A Lesson in Anatomy
by loonmoony
Summary: Sakura is a first year pre-medical student at Konoha University. Completely absorbed in her favorite hobby of reading and her relentless habit of studying, she is convinced that she will have no time for boys during her college experience. Enter: Uchiha-sensei. AU. Student!Sakura. Professor!Sasuke. Sasuke x Sakura.
1. ONE

ONE

* * *

Sakura brushed a tear from her eye as she hugged her mother goodbye for the hundredth time.

"Remember to have some fun, baby," Haruno Mebuki clutched her daughter fiercely, and Sakura could feel the woman's poorly concealed tears leaking onto her jacket. "Don't study too hard."

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes at her well-meaning mother's words. "I'm pretty sure you just gave me the opposite lecture that every other student got from their mothers today."

Mebuki pulled back and eyed her child wisely, "Every other student isn't my overachieving, too-hard working daughter. I just want to make sure that you still enjoy yourself. I know you have goals you want to reach, but you also need to relax and enjoy your college experience!"

"No boys, though," Sakura's father, Kizashi, chimed in, a faux-serious look on his face.

The pink-haired beauty smiled at her father. "I won't have time for boys, Dad, don't worry. I'll be too busy chasing my dreams and enjoying the _college experience._"

"Okay, okay, I can see where I'm not wanted. Your father and I are going to go home, sweetie. Do you need anything else before we go?" Sakura could see her mother clearly fighting to control her tears, preparing to leave her only child at college.

"No, Mom, you two have done enough," Sakura smiled at her parents, willing herself not to cry anymore. "I love you guys, and I promise to call at least once a week."

Final hugs were exchanged and Sakura's parents departed with a wave, turning to head back to their car and to make the half hour drive back to her childhood home. Sakura turned to head back into her building, drying her eyes for good and letting all of her nerves and excitement come to the surface. She had put on a brave face for her parents, but in truth, she was all jitters.

Sakura used her keycard to get into her dorm building, a beautiful old brown brick building with peaking towers and stained glass. Climbing the spiral staircase instead of taking the elevator, Sakura reveled in the excitement of it all. She had finally made it. She'd been taking college classes in high school at Konoha University for years, but now she was officially a college student. Academics were here strong suit, and so she felt right at home living in a place of learning.

Scanning her keycard yet again to access her hallway, Sakura was met with the sounds of other freshman moving in, mothers crying, and a painfully familiar, raspy voice making some very unpleasant whooping noises.

"Sakura-chan!" Speak of the devil.

"Naruto," Sakura smiled at the blond-haired menace currently running at her, not slowing down as he lifted her off her feet in a spin. "Oomph. Put me down!"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," Naruto was grinning so wide it looked like his face would split open. "I'm just so excited! I'm freaking out!"

"Well, take it easy!" Sakura scolded him, unable to keep a smile from her lips. "Be excited without smushing me."

Before Sakura had even finished her sentence, Naruto had been distracted by an equally enthusiastic Lee and had gone running down the corridor after him, resuming that horrible whooping noise that would surely earn him a noise complaint or two in the following weeks.

"There you are, Forehead!" Ino's head was poking out a door halfway down the hall. "Get in here and help me organize all this crap!"

"Sorry, Pig, I'm coming," Sakura jogged down to the room she would be sharing with Ino. "Naruto decided it was important he tackle me before I got back in here."

The blonde simply sighed dramatically. "Boys." She opened up the cardboard box on the dresser in front of her. "Ugh, Sakura, this box is _yours. _It's all books."

Sakura couldn't help but snort at her friend's tone, "You sound like it's a box full of syphilis."

"As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty much what it is," Ino scooted the box away delicately, as though it really was housing sexually transmitted diseases. "I'll let you deal with those, Future Doctor-san."

Using her bizarre strength, Sakura lifted the heavy box of books from the dresser easily and carried them over to the bookshelf situated underneath her lofted bed. She began pulling books out, organizing them by author name, giving her favorites an extra stroke on the spine. She heard Ino mumbling something about books and virginity under her breath, but Sakura tuned her out, continuing to gaze lovingly at her collection.

"There's a welcome party on the quad tonight," Ino offered as she began hanging clothes up in one of the large wooden wardrobes. "Some of the fraternities and sororities and throwing it for the new underclassman. Wanna go?"

Sakura hesitated. "Ah, I don't know, Ino, you know how I feel about parties."

The blonde slammed the door of the wardrobe. "Okay, rephrasing. Your mother has tasked me with ensuring that you get out and have fun this year. As your appointed ambassador of good times, I will be forcibly bringing you to this party tonight. Wear something cute, but that will be comfortable enough to kick and scream in as I drag you by the hair outside."

"Alright, alright, no need to get violent," Sakura held her hands up defensively. "I'll go."

Ino examined her nails, a wicked smile on her perfect face. "Good! Although, I _was _kind of looking forward to dragging you down the hallway."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at her best friend childishly, turning back to her bookshelf to finish organizing her treasures.

* * *

The bass was pumping so loud that Sakura could feel it in her teeth. She had never been big on parties, that was Ino's scene. The loud music and flashing lights made her antsy and annoyed and she just wanted to curl up in her room with a good book and some tea. But Ino had begged her and Naruto had pulled out his best set of soulful, puppy dog eyes and she knew she would lose the argument. And so, Sakura stood at the edge of the crowd awkwardly, feeling silly in her mini skirt and makeup, wondering what the hell she was even doing there in the first place. There were hundreds of students crowded around the fountain in the middle of campus, with speakers and strobe lights set up everywhere.

"Freshman?" a boy to her right asked her, a knowing smirk on his face as he watched Sakura fidget awkwardly at the edge of the party.

"That obvious?" Sakura let out a nervous laugh as her eyes immediately began scanning the crowd for her friends. Where had they gotten off to already?

The guy was still smiling at her with straight, white teeth. He had a mess of curly brown hair and he had nice, deep blue eyes. Sakura couldn't help but think he was cute, so she smiled back. Apparently taking this as an invitation to continue the conversation, he said: "Well, either that or you just really hate parties."

"I _am _a freshman, but I also hate parties," Sakura looked away from the boy sheepishly, again sweeping the crowd with her eyes looking for any sign of her friends. "Never really could see much of an appeal to them, honestly."

"So, what _do _you do for fun then – what's your name?" the boy was standing a little closer now, the smell of alcohol wafting from him.

Sakura noticed the smell immediately, but wasn't put off by it. The boy was still standing a respectful distance away and seemed polite enough. "I read a lot," Sakura shrugged, deciding to be honest instead of interesting. "I've been so focused on school for the last several years that I haven't gotten out much. And my name is Sakura."

"Ah, so _Sakura-san_ is a bookworm, how very charming," he was still smiling, but he was beginning to sway a little as though he was getting dizzy. "My name is Keiju."

"Nice to meet you, Keiju," Sakura smiled kindly at him. Even if he was drunk, at least he was being polite to her…unlike her own friends who had apparently decided to drag her to a party and then abandon her.

As though summoned by Satan himself, Ino's voice somehow cut through the din of the party. "Forehead! Where'd you go?"

"Ah," Sakura blushed a bit at the use of her nickname in front of Keiju. "That's my cue. It was really nice talking to you, see you around sometime!"

Sakura turned towards the sound of Ino's voice and jogged over to her, missing the slightly disappointed look on Keiju's face. "Ino-pig! Why'd you ditch me, jerk?"

"First of all, I didn't ditch you, I was getting a drink," the blonde rolled her eyes, and lifted the red cup in her hand a little higher for emphasis. "Secondly, who was the hottie you were talking to? He's still looking over here." Ino gave a little wave in Keiju's direction.

"Shut-up!" Sakura pointedly looked away from the boy she had been talking to. "He was just keeping me company while I was busy being left alone by my friends." Air quotes were heavily implied around the word _friends. _

"Aw, Sakura-chan, I've been here the whoooooole time!" Naruto's voice startled Sakura as he seemingly appeared from nowhere. "See I'm right heeeeeere!"

"Naruto, you're already drunk," Sakura detested the whine in her tone, but it was there nonetheless.

"God, Sakura, _chill_," Ino sighed dramatically, thrusting her cup into the pink-haired girl's hands. "Take this. _Drink it. _I'll go get another one," Ino fixed Sakura with a dead-eyed glare. "If you don't drink it, I swear to God I'm going to scream at you all night."

Taking Ino's threat seriously, Sakura immediately tipped the cup back and took a drink of the spicy liquid, grimacing as she swallowed. This was going to be a long night…

* * *

Sakura stumbled back towards her dorm alone a few hours later. She had lost Ino and Naruto yet again, the two of them no doubt off somewhere in search of their crushes…being Sai and Hinata respectively. Sakura knew they hadn't abandoned her purposely, they were drunk and having fun, but she just wasn't in the mood to party anymore. She had spent all of five minutes looking for her two blonde friends before she decided to leave on her own. Naruto would be angry that she had walked back alone, but she would deal with his outburst tomorrow.

Now she was tripping down the cement walkway, rubbing her eyes and cursing herself for finishing the drink Ino had given her. She was a bit of a lightweight and didn't have much experience drinking. She hoped she could find her way back to her dorm in one piece. As she trudged blearily on, she saw the vague outline of a man underneath the arch of the entrance of one of the old, brick buildings. The light from the doorway behind him made him appear as though he was a shadow in the night. He was puffing on a cigarette like it was his life-source.

Sakura scowled. If there was one thing she detested more than anything, it was smoking. Didn't people understand what it did to their health?!

Normally, Sakura would have walked on, would have never said anything, but alcohol was flowing like liquid courage through her veins and as she drew closer to the man she stopped and took him in. He was tall, and though the lighting was low, he seemed incredibly handsome, like some sort of fallen angel standing there in the half-light. His hair was dark and wild, it looked like he had just gotten out of bed but…it looked like he had somehow gotten out of bed _elegantly. _His eyes were almost as dark as his hair.

"Can I help you?"

Sakura was startled by the man's deep voice. She had become so entranced with staring at him that she hadn't noticed he was looking back at her. Spitting out the first thing that came to mind, she stuttered: "D-don't you know smoking is bad for you?" That alcohol-based courage of hers was quickly waning.

The man frowned at her, and the intensity in his eyes forced Sakura to take a step back unintentionally. He slowly raised the cigarette up to his lips and sucked a slow breath in, blowing the smoke out smoothly towards her. "I know."

Sakura scoffed at the man's clear disregard for common sense. "I'm sorry," Sakura folded her arms across her chest. "Have fun with your trashed lungs." The rudeness of her words shocked her, and a blush immediately colored the bridge of her nose and her high cheekbones. "Ah, that was mean. Forgive me, stranger-san." Sakura cracked a lopsided grin at the man, the alcohol in her system being the only the keeping her from dying of embarrassment as she quickly walked past him.

Grateful he hadn't responded, Sakura quickly walked away until she was several feet past him, cringing deeply and already regretting ever having gone out in the first place. The sound of the man's deep, cold voice stopped her in her tracks.

"A girl like you shouldn't be walking around alone in the dark."

Sakura's temper flared to life and that all-too-familiar heat rose to her cheeks once more. She whirled around to face the man again, who was now leaning against the arch of the doorway, watching her closely. "What do you mean _a girl like me_? Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm defenseless."

The dark man actually had the gall to scoff at her. "That's not what I meant."

Sakura frowned, noticing the way the man was slowly inching towards her now. "Then what did you mean?"

The man had advanced close enough that she could see him clearly roll his eyes at her. "I guess it's too much to ask for a girl to be pretty _and _smart, hm?" There was so much derision in his tone that Sakura nearly took a step away from him on impact of his words alone.

"Damn, _harsh_," Sakura scowled at the man growing ever closer, and she tried to decide if the smell of alcohol was coming off of her or him. He took one more step and she decided that it was clearly him. Was e_veryone _on campus getting trashed that night?

"Where do you live?" the man asked her casually, never breaking eye contact with her and continuing to smoke his damn cigarette.

"As someone so obviously concerned for my well-being, wouldn't you discourage me from telling a strange man where I live?" Sakura asked the man, not bothering to hide the cold edge to her voice. He'd essentially called her stupid, after all. _But he also called you pretty, _Sakura's inner-self taunted her.

"I'm not a strange man," the _very _strange man smirked at her. "I'm a professor here. I live in this building." The man jabbed a thumb towards the building now behind him, and Sakura saw a plaque near the doorway that read 'Faculty Lodging'.

Sakura frowned, not really seeing a reason to hide where she lived as the man could easily watch her walk the short way down the path and into her dorm. "Senju building."

"Alright, let's go," the man brushed past her, knocking her in the shoulder hard enough to make Sakura wince as she was overwhelmed by the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol.

"What do you mean let's go?" Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, not budging an inch.

"I already told you, you shouldn't be walking around alone in the dark," the wild-haired man was clearly exasperated when he turned to look at her, his eyes dark but hardly dull. His tone softened, but only slightly: "Humor me."

"Fine," Sakura watched him suspiciously as she began to walk behind him, careful not to get too close.

Sakura thanked all the gods that the walk to her dorm wasn't very far from the faculty building, as she didn't think she would've been able to stay in the man's presence for much longer. He made her inexplicably uncomfortable, coldness seemingly coming off of him in waves that gave her goosebumps and made her bones ache. She actually had to pull her jacket more tightly against her as they approached the end of their walk.

Sighing in relief upon reaching the stairs to the entrance of the building, Sakura brushed past the man quickly in order to jog up to the door. Fresh goosebumps prickled up her arm underneath her jacket from where she had briefly rubbed against him. She fished in her pocket for her keycard, eager to get out of the presence of this weird guy who had found it necessary to walk her to her dorm.

"See? Who knows what would've happened if I wasn't around to walk you back," the man's icy voice cut through the silence behind her.

"Thanks," Sakura didn't bother to hide the thick sarcasm in her voice as she slid her card through the reader and opened the door. "How ever shall I repay my savior?"

The dark look on the man's face made Sakura wish she would not have spoken at all. "You can owe me."

Sakura let her eyes linger a moment too long, swallowing down any words she thought to hurl at the man. She quickly turned and let the door swing closed behind her and she hastily made her way into the building, suddenly feeling nauseous and a little lightheaded. Whether the feeling was from the alcohol or her sudden nervousness in the face of Professor Jerk-Wad, Sakura knew she needed to lay down and sleep.

Regardless of the issue, Sakura shook her head violently, pressing the up button for the elevator after deciding that five flights of stairs probably wasn't a good idea for her at the moment.

* * *

The rest of Sakura's weekend had gone by uneventfully. She had spent her time getting her dorm room organized, hanging out with her friends, and preparing for classes. Ino had brought up Keiju again and Sakura was shocked to find that she had almost completely forgotten about him. Her interaction with the dark-haired professor had easily been the most memorable part of the evening, and everything that had happened before their meeting had kind of faded in Sakura's memory.

Too early Monday morning, the obnoxious beeping of the alarm woke Sakura from her fitful sleep. She rubbed her eyes groggily, cursing herself for choosing a class taking place at eight in the morning. What was she thinking? Despite her springtime appearance, Sakura was _not _a morning person.

Sluggishly, the student pulled a simple green t-shirt over her head and slipped on a pair of comfortable but stylish sweatpants, all the while being as quiet as possible to avoid waking her roommate. After brushing her teeth and applying a bit of brown mascara, Sakura grabbed her bag and sneakily slipped out the door.

She was on her way to her very first class as a college student, to say she was nervous was an understatement. She'd left her dorm with plenty of time, but she still wasn't exactly sure where the building her class was in was. She had meant to locate the building over the weekend, but reading and spending time with her friends had caused her to forget her more responsible sensibilities. Double checking her syllabus, Sakura confirmed that she was heading to the medical sciences building.

Upon arriving at the building after some wandering around, Sakura could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. She couldn't understand why she was so nervous…she had taken many college classes in high school. She just felt like something was about to be different – like something was about to change…and she couldn't begin to explain it.

The room her class, an upper level anatomy and physiology class, was in was a huge lecture hall, with chairs sloping down towards a small platform with a desk on it. A chalkboard hung on the wall behind the desk, and there was a sheet of paper tacked to it that many students had gathered around. Sakura did her best to walk confidently up to the board to see what the paper said.

"Ugh, I hate assigned seating," a blonde girl with four spiky ponytails was sighing as Sakura approached the board. "Now I can't sit with anyone I know."

Sakura simply waited her turn at the back of the group to see where her seat was. All of the other students in the class were juniors or seniors, and so they likely had friends in the class. Sakura, however, knew no one, and didn't care where she sat. She was finally able to see that she would be seated in chair number thirty-seven, which was in the third row. Setting her backpack at her feet and pulling her notebook out of her bag, Sakura took a deep breath and tried to relax until class began.

"I assume you've all been in school long enough that I don't need to waste our first day going over the syllabus."

Sakura's head snapped up, she _knew _that voice.

A tall man with wild black hair was scrawling something in messy handwriting on the blackboard. It read: _Uchiha-sensei. _He turned around to face the class.

Spring green met midnight black as Sakura made eye-contact with the strange man who had walked her back to her dorm on Friday night.

* * *

AN: Okay, hopefully no one gets mad at me for starting another story before I finish Untitled Affections or When Skies are Grey...I am sorry about that but I'm suffering from real writer's block for both. Sometimes writing something else helps me, and I have several chapters of this story written! I hope you can enjoy this story for awhile if you're currently waiting on updates for the others, I appreciate you :) Let me know what you think of this one!

~ loony


	2. TWO

TWO

* * *

Sakura couldn't seem to take a breath. It was the weird guy that had followed her to her dorm on Friday night...the guy she'd been fairly rude to. In her defense, he _had_ been acting like a weirdo creep. He deserved it.

It felt like it took an hour for her professor to drag his eyes away from her, but he finally did, and Sakura sucked in a breath greedily. _Great_, so much for maintaining her teacher's pet status this semester. Either he was going to hate her, or maybe like her a little too much. She desperately hoped for the former.

"Let's start with a little refresher. Who can explain to me, in good detail, the Krebs cycle?" The professor had his back turned as he asked the question, as he wrote 'Krebs cycle' on the board in that same messy script from before.

Forgetting her worries momentarily, Sakura shot her hand up into the air, and a few other students followed suit, though none raised their hand so high or so quick as Sakura.

Again, the dark-haired man's eyes fell on her, and Sakura was disappointed to see annoyance there. Looking at her very clearly, Uchiha-sensei folded his arms across his chest and said: "It's clear that someone is overeager to prove herself. This is freshman level material - regardless of your answer, I will not be impressed." He pointed to a young male student sitting at the front of the room. "Yes?"

_Definitely the former. _Sakura spluttered, not even paying attention to the answer the other student gave as she quickly dropped her hand into her lap, ears burning. What the _hell_ was that? So what it was a freshman level question? He was the one who had asked it and she knew the answer!

The rest of class continued in a similar fashion. Uchiha-sensei lectured in a bored tone, occasionally asking questions and generally being rude to those who answered. Not as rude as he had been to Sakura, but still unpleasant enough. The pink-haired student had already decided she wouldn't be raising her hand any more for that day, even though every time he asked a question that she knew the answer to it made her squirm in her seat.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the hour of lecture time was up and Sakura was free from the disapproving gaze of Asshole-sensei, as she had taken to calling him in her mind. Gathering her belongings quickly, Sakura made to leave the lecture hall without a fuss.

She climbed the stairs up the hall two at a time, trying to dodge the multitude of students who were also trying to leave the classroom. Shuddering briefly as she reached the top of the stairs and the door, Sakura couldn't help but feel that a pair of dark eyes were boring a hole right through her back.

* * *

"So you'll just need to set up a password for yourself and you'll be good to go," the blonde doctor explained to Sakura. "Feel free to come by my office down the hall if you have questions. My physician's assistant, Shizune, will help you as well. If she's not in there and I'm asleep, under no circumstances should you wake me up." The last sentence was said with an air of the utmost seriousness, and so Sakura bobbed her head with wide eyes and a timid smile.

She had taken a job as a receptionist/front desk clerk at the campus health clinic to help pay for school and get experience. Her boss, the head doctor whose name was Tsunade, was a nice enough lady, but somehow at the same time she was absolutely terrifying.

The woman had put Sakura at the desk and instructed her what to do if a patient came up, how to sign them in, and various other clerical duties.

"If there are no students here needing attention and you don't have any other tasks to do, feel free to study," Tsunade-san had said. "Just don't let it interfere with your work."

After Sakura had checked in two students, both for flu-like symptoms, she pulled out her notes and began to study. She could definitely get used to a job like this...

* * *

Sakura's Tuesday classes went well. She had a basic history class, behavioral neuroscience, and physics II. Her last class of the day was her Anatomy and Physiology lab, and she couldn't help but be nervous that Uchiha-sensei might be there. She knew that sometimes professors would run one of the lab sections, and she was afraid that she would be unlucky enough to have him.

The student exhaled a subtle sigh of relief upon entering the lab. Up at the front of the room, dressed in a white lab coat, was a friendly looking man with round glasses and an ID badge that said 'GTA'.

"Welcome!" The man said, as Sakura and the other students began to settle in at tables. "My name is Kabuto, and I'll be running this lab section. If everyone would be so kind as to put on your lab coats, we'll head on over into the next room to observe our charitable donors. "

Sakura smiled as she pulled her lab coat out of her backpack and put it on. She was extremely grateful that it seemed like her lab instructor was friendly enough. She hadn't realized how nervous she was that she would walk into lab and see Uchiha-sensei until she walked in and he wasn't there.

The rest of the lab went smoothly, with the exception of a red-headed girl who kept interrupting to ask questions. Even the seemingly good-natured Kabuto began to get frustrated by her and her incessant speaking.

After all was done, Sakura packed up her bag with the rest of the class, preparing to go back to her dorm, eat dinner, study, and get to bed at a decent time before classes began the next day. Just as she turned to go, however, the voice of her lab instructor stopped her. "Sakura-san? May I speak with you a moment?"

Sakura's chest tightened a bit as she turned back around to face the GTA. She told herself to calm down, there was nothing for him to be angry with her about and so she had no need to worry. "Yes, Kabuto-san? What is it?"

The white-haired man chuckled, "Please, just Kabuto is fine."

Sakura nodded her head amiably, wishing for him to continue. "Then I must insist on being just Sakura."

"Fair trade," Kabuto grinned at her. "I just wanted to ask you, and don't take this the wrong way, but I noticed on my sign-in sheet that you're a freshman. How are you able to be in this class? Most of your classmates are seniors."

"Ah," Sakura smiled, a little heat rising to her cheeks with pride. "I took all of the lower level Anatomy and Physiology classes while I was in high school. I'm trying to finish my undergrad in two years so I can start med school as soon as possible. "

"Ambitious," Kabuto congratulated her, "Color me impressed, then. Thank you for answering my question, Sakura. I'll see you in lab on Thursday."

"See you Thursday, " Sakura gave a little wave as she turned and headed back to the door, eager to get back to her room for the night.

* * *

Sakura woke up with a pounding headache on Wednesday morning, which did not excite her _at all_ considering she was about to have to sit through Uchiha-sensei's class. She loved the material she was learning, but she dreaded her professor. She could only hope he would be better than he had been on Monday.

When Sakura arrived at the lecture hall, she took her normal seat and pulled out the homework she had completed last night. It wasn't technically due until Friday, but she had wanted to get it done and out of the way. She waited for Uchiha-sensei to enter the room and lay his bag down at his desk before she shakily stood and went to hand in her homework to him. She had decided the simplest way to go about it was to just walk right up to him and get it over with.

Sakura cleared her throat upon reaching the desk, her fingers fidgeting delicately with each other as she held on to her papers. "Uchiha-sensei?"

Black eyes snapped up to look at her face, and she thought she detected a slight scowl marring the handsome features. "Ah, here's my homework for the week."

Uchiha-sensei raised an eyebrow at this, taking her paper from her and glancing at it. "This wasn't due till Friday," his voice was deep and exact, his tone bored.

"I know," Sakura shifted her feet uncomfortably, "I just finished it last night so I figured I would just turn it in now."

Uchiha-sensei handed the paper back to her, much to Sakura's confusion. "Turn it in on Friday. You aren't going to do any better in this class by sucking up." He said the last bit loud enough for people in the first few rows to hear.

Sakura could only stand there, mouth agape like a fish out of water. "I-uh..." Sakura stumbled for words, her embarrassment quickly turning to anger. Who did this guy think he was? She snatched her paper back from him and turned. With her back facing him, she replied: "Alright. If you prefer a lack of initiative from your students, I'll oblige you."

The irate student marched back to her seat upon being met by silence, only slightly mortified by what she had just said to the man who held her grade in his hands. She wasn't sure where that streak of confidence and bluntness had come from, but she wasn't going to question it now.

Sakura returned to her seat and sat down in a huff, purposefully ignoring the eyes of the professor whose gaze was now fixed on her. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw the red-headed girl from her lab enter the classroom and approach Uchiha-sensei's desk with a piece of paper in her hand. Sakura narrowed her eyes. _Was that the homework?_

Sakura's head nearly exploded as the professor took the paper without a word, she had half a mind to stand up and walk out of the class. Karin began to giggle and very openly flirt with him, smiling coyly and twisting a strand of bright red hair around her finger. Uchiha-sensei regarded her silently, and then said something too quietly for Sakura to hear. Karin then turned and made her way to her seat with a smile on her face.

Sakura did her best to keep her head down and take diligent notes throughout the rest of the lecture, all the while feeling as though she were going to self-destruct thanks to her mounting anger. Every time she looked up, though, her black-eyed professor seemed to be looking at her, or just at that moment looking away. What was this guy's deal? She had the fleeting thought to just switch sections of the class...but then she would be admitting defeat.

And she wouldn't do that.

* * *

Sakura stood nervously at the closed door of Uchiha-sensei's office. It was decorated only with a plain black nameplate reading: _Uchiha Sasuke, PhD._ She told herself she was going to go in and confront him, ask him why he hated her for no reason, and ask him why he took Karin's homework and not hers. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Sakura reached out and knocked on the door.

"What?" came the muffled reply from behind the door.

Steeling her nerves and embracing her anger, Sakura turned the knob and pushed the heavy wooden door in. She stepped confidently into the office, letting her emotions guide her, closing the door behind her and making direct eye-contact with her professor the whole time. The brief look of surprise (and maybe a bit of panic) on his face made her feel good. He quickly schooled his expression into one of hard indifference.

"I'm sure you can guess why I'm here," Sakura said, hoping her words sounded cutting and not wobbly.

Uchiha-sensei steepled his long fingers in front of his face, frowning at her and looking disinterested overall. "I can't even begin to imagine," his words came out in a slow drawl.

Sakura fought the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes at the infuriating man. "Why wouldn't you take my homework when you took Karin's? What have I done to earn such immediate contempt from you?"

Sasuke _did _roll his eyes and added to it with a scoff. "Don't flatter yourself, Sakura. Just because you've been every other teacher's favorite doesn't mean I have to like you or treat you specially."

Sakura made a sound of indignation at that, crossing her arms violently over her chest, now positively seething. "I'm not asking for special treatment! I'm asking for _fair _treatment. You took Karin's homework, because she's pretty and she flirted with you. You should've just taken mine too." She paused briefly, debating her next words. "Is this because of what happened Friday night?"

Her professor had stood up at some point during her speech, and he was now leaning over his desk, his hands planted firmly on the wooden surface as he glared at her, his bangs falling haphazardly into his eyes. "Have you ever considered that I didn't take your homework simply because you're _annoying_?"

Sakura's mouth snapped shut at that. _Annoying. _The word had been following her around for her entire life. Memories of the kids in grade school and high school throwing the insult at her came rushing to the forefront of her mind, and Sakura grimaced as she was overcome by them. To her horror, she felt angry tears spring to the corners of her eyes, and she quickly turned to go. "If ambition and hard-work make you annoying, then I plead guilty. Forgive me, Uchiha-sensei." By the time she was done talking, the sarcasm was so thick in her voice that Sakura hardly recognized herself. She walked away from him, her hand landing on the door handle.

"If you're going to speak to me so disrespectfully, you might as well call me Sasuke."

Sakura whirled around and frowned. "What?"

"Sasuke. It's my name," the dark-haired man was looking at her so indifferently that a person watching from the outside wouldn't have known that they had just argued.

"Fine," Sakura nodded, pulling the door open and leaving before he could say another word.

* * *

Sakura was absolutely seething on her walk back to her dorm. Where did that guy get off being such an asshole? It infuriated her. So what she did the homework early? So what she met him on Friday night and they were both drunk? That didn't give him the right to discriminate against her and attempt to embarrass her in front of the whole class.

Throwing her bag down upon returning to her room, Sakura slammed the door with a huff and climbed up to sit cross-legged on her lofted bed.

Ino had frozen upon seeing Sakura stomp into the room. The blonde had one hand poised delicately above the other, a nail polish wand gripped between her fingers. "Uh, everything alright there, Forehead?"

Sakura said nothing, instead choosing to pick up her pillow, bury her face in it, and scream.

"Okay," Ino nodded calmly, returning her attention to her nails. "So, _not_ alright. Tell me what happened, Sakura, use your _words._"

Frowning as she removed the pillow from her face, Sakura dropped it into her lap with a light thud. She launched into the whole story then, explaining everything to Ino, a couple of frustrated tears escaping through her lashes as she did so. She told her about meeting Uchiha-sensei, _Sasuke, _after the party Friday night, and then about how he'd been such an asshole to her in class…about how he had told her to call him Sasuke. It felt good to get it all off her chest, even if she hadn't been planning on sharing it with her loudmouthed, gossipy best friend.

"Damn, Forehead," Ino sighed, combing a hand through her long blonde locks. "He sounds like a monumental asshole. Maybe he just _likes _you."

Sakura scoffed. "Doubtful. I'm just going to do my best to avoid him this semester." She stood, grabbing her shorts to change. "Are you coming to the frisbee game?"

"Yeah," Ino smiled and stood, blowing on her nails gently. "I'll change my clothes and we can go."

* * *

A bead of sweat dripped down Sakura's neck, and she swiped at the itchy trail it left behind with only a little bit of irritation. She had joined the intramural frisbee team at Naruto's request, (he'd begged her on hands and knees for the better part of an hour), and was only now beginning to regret it. It was fun, but after almost two hours of chasing a flying disc around in the late summer heat, Sakura was reaching her limit. It was time for some quality time in her room with some ice cream.

"Sakura!" Naruto's raspy voice cut through all the yelling. "Catch!"

Sakura locked her eyes onto the disc, which Naruto had absolutely overthrown, and ran past the out of bounds line to catch it, all the way to the parking lot near the field. Stretching slightly, Sakura reached up only to feel the disc brush her finger, too far out of her reach. Her momentum caused her to skid to a stop on her knees on the pavement, effectively causing her to scrape her shins and hands quite badly.

"Damn it," the pink-haired student mumbled, standing and dabbing a bit of blood off of her leg with her finger. "Nice throw, dumb-ass!" she shouted back at Naruto. Sakura continued to grumble to herself as she walked to pick up the disc, it couldn't have landed too far away from her, and yet she didn't see it anywhere.

"Looking for this?"

Sakura nearly groaned out loud as the last person she wanted to see stepped out from behind a sleek black car parked in the lot. He had the silvery white disc in his hands. "Ah, yeah," Sakura cringed inwardly, acutely aware of the fact that she was covered in sweat and now blood. "Sorry Uchi-, er, Sasuke-san."

The dark-haired man narrowed his eyes, still holding onto the disc. "Just Sasuke."

Not knowing what to say to that, Sakura simply nodded awkwardly, torn between feeling uncomfortable and being angry at the man who had been such an ass to her. "It didn't hit you or your car, did it?" Sakura asked, feeling the need to fill the silence as he just stood there staring at her.

Sasuke chuckled, much to her surprise, a subtle smirk lighting up his dark face. "No. Here," he tossed it at her.

Sakura caught it easily, her eyes never leaving Sasuke's face. "Thanks," she muttered quietly. She just didn't get this guy. One minute he was scoffing at her and embarrassing her in front of her classmates, and the next he was tossing her a frisbee with a ghost of a smile on his face. "Uh, I better get back to the game. They'll be missing this," she spun the frisbee absently around her finger, beginning to feel the desperate need to get out of his presence.

"Nice knees," the professor replied, ignoring her comment. His eyes dragged down her lithe frame to rest on her scraped and bloody legs, an unreadable expression on his cold face. His hair had gotten messier since the last time she had seen him, and again she wondered how such a mop of hair could still look so purposeful and elegant.

"Oh," Sakura cringed. "Yeah, I got a little…overeager I guess."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" There was that damn smirk again.

Sakura felt the corners of her own lips raise briefly before she quickly schooled her expression back into one of neutrality. He did _not _deserve any kindness from her, no matter how small. "I work hard for the things that I want," Sakura shrugged her shoulders lightly, trying to appear nonchalant.

Sasuke's eyes seemed to somehow grow a shade darker, from midnight to onyx, as he moved to get into his car. "So do I," he replied quietly.

Sakura felt her throat dry up at his comment, and stood there like a fool as the man got into his car and drove away. What was _that _supposed to mean? And why did she suddenly feel like she was choking on her own stomach? Shaking her head violently, she turned back towards her friends on the field and saw that a few of them were watching her, no doubt wondering why she wasn't back to the game yet and who she had been talking to. She groaned inwardly as she started to jog back, knowing that Ino would pounce on her like a lion on its prey the moment the game was over.

The rest of the game was hazy to Sakura, and she only really started focusing again on the walk back to the dorm with Ino. Luckily, the blonde was exhausted, so she hadn't launched into grilling Sakura just yet. She was grateful for it, as she didn't think she'd be able to handle Ino's quizzing at the moment.

"Want to order a pizza?" Ino asked, stifling a yawn behind her hand. "I'm starving and way too tired to cook anything."

Sakura exhaled a sigh of relief, she didn't feel like cooking or going out either. "I'd love to."

Now she could only hope that Ino chose to leave the subject of the stranger with the frisbee alone for the night, as Sakura didn't think she could bear to spend one more moment thinking about that insufferable man.

* * *

AN: Wow! The response to this story so far has been really uplifting, thank you all for favoriting, following, and reviewing! It means a lot! I am still several chapters ahead so I think I will be posting chapter 3 this weekend! Thank you all so much for reading, I'm really enjoying writing this story! :)

~ loony


	3. THREE

Three

Thursday's lab was smooth sailing. Kabuto, the GTA, was extremely nice and helpful, and Sakura had enjoyed every minute of learning. After her horrible experience in class on Wednesday, Sakura was grateful for a break where she could actually enjoy her favorite subject. Kabuto had even offered to meet her for lunch sometime to give her study tips and to help her prepare for the first quiz and exam. She had readily agreed and thanked him for his kindness.

Class on Friday, however, was nearly insufferable…at least at first, anyway. Sakura showed up twenty minutes early so that she could leave her homework on Sasuke's desk without having to interact with him. She retreated back to her seat after doing so, doing her best to ignore the snickering coming from a group of students with Karin at the center. Sakura was quickly becoming disliked by her fellow students, thanks to Sasuke's ridicule and Karin's mean-spirited comments about it.

"I literally can't stand teacher's pets," a not-so-silent whisper caught Sakura's attention, causing the student to cringe and her cheeks to redden slightly. Her hand clenched and unclenched around her pencil as she attempted to reign in her infamous temper.

What was this, high school? Sakura could barely believe how unlucky she already was so early on in the semester. Since when did turning in homework early make you a teacher's pet? Sakura _knew _how to be a teacher's pet, she had been the favorite of more than one of her high school teachers and many of her classmates had disliked her for it. She was self-aware enough to know that she hadn't been demonstrating "suck-up" behavior to Sasuke, clearly some of her classmates were just looking for a reason to be unpleasant.

Specifically, Karin. Sakura suspected that her red-haired classmate had a bit of a crush on their professor, as evidenced by her openly flirty behavior and her despise of Sakura herself. Although the attention Sakura had been receiving from Sasuke was mostly negative, it was still attention and so she suspected that Karin was likely a bit jealous. Sakura wasn't blind – she could admit that Sasuke was attractive. It was probable that several of the girls in the class had a little bit of a thing for him. He was young and tall and dark and brooding. He practically oozed bad boy vibes and Sakura hated him for the charisma of it all.

By the time Sasuke entered the room, punctual as always, Sakura was grinding her teeth audibly, fighting the growing urge to stand from her seat and leave the room. The hateful whispers from Karin's group only ceased upon the entrance of their professor, and Sakura had had quite enough of it. She prided herself on the thickening of her skin over the years – a couple of years ago comments like that would have reduced her to a quivering puddle of tears. But even now her self-esteem wavered, at times, and she knew listening to those assholes for much longer would have lead to crying or violence – she wasn't sure which.

"Alright, class, please turn to page seventy-four in your physiology text," Sasuke's cool, indifferent voice floated through the room unaided by a microphone. "Go ahead and complete the review question at the top of the page on your own and then we will discuss it as a class."

Sakura turned her book to the correct page, diligently keeping her eyes trained away from Sasuke, careful to avoid getting trapped in the midnight of his gaze. She'd made the mistake of making eye-contact with him more than once in previous classes, and the seemingly insignificant action had left her heart racing and her palms sweating. When he looked at her, she felt as though he was looking right _through _her, like he could see every detail of her body and soul, and it left her shaky and uncomfortable.

The question on the page was one Sakura could answer easily. It asked her about the six characteristics of life. She wrote her answer out quickly, placing her pencil back down and looking around the room when she was done. It seemed most of the class was either finishing up or still looking at their books with confused looks on their faces.

"Let's see," Sasuke's voice rang out again, he had the class roster in his hand. "Haruno Sakura. Can you tell us the answer to the question?"

Sakura felt her eyes widen and her pulse rate speed up immediately. What was this guy's issue? Was he _trying _to get the whole class to hate her? Did he enjoy seeing her squirm in her seat, on the verge of tears? She was beginning to feel that, in his eyes, she was the only student in the class.

"Well?" came that voice again, prompting Sakura to snap out of her daze. "Do you have an answer?"

"I know, Uchiha-sensei!" Karin's ugly squeal of delight caused Sakura to roll her eyes violently. "It's when – "

Karin was cut off abruptly by a silent raise of Sasuke's hand. "Congratulations. However, I did not ask you for the answer, I asked Haruno Sakura. Please, sit down, and do your best to keep your outbursts to a minimum in the future."

Suddenly, Sakura couldn't wipe the grin off of her face, and when she finally looked up to meet Sasuke's eyes, she couldn't help but think she saw the barest hint of a smirk on his aristocratic face. Finding her voice, she said: "The six characteristics of life differentiate between the living and non-living, and they are metabolism, responsiveness, movement, growth, differentiation, and reproduction."

Sasuke's eyes lingered on her for an indiscernible moment before he turned away towards the blackboard. "Good. Now, someone else raise their hand and tell me – "

Sakura didn't hear the rest of his question. She was too distracted by the events of the last two minutes. Karin had been put in her place, and Sasuke had actually spoken to her without ridicule – he hadn't exactly given her glowing praise, but the question had been easy and Sakura wouldn't have expected that from any professor. She did her best to wipe the goofy smile from her face as Sasuke continued to lecture.

* * *

Sakura only checked-in three students during her first hour at work. One for the flu, one for a sprained ankle, and another for a suspected STD. Now, she was going over her anatomy notes and praising the universe that tomorrow was Saturday. The week of classes had been brutal, to say the least, and Sakura was looking forward to spending the weekend hanging out with friends and watching TV in her dorm room.

"How are classes going, Sakura?" Tsunade's voice came from behind the student, and Sakura had to wonder if the woman had somehow been reading her mind.

"They're alright," Sakura closed her book and smiled at the woman. "I'm enjoying them all…except…" Sakura trailed off, wondering if she should go on. Would it be inappropriate to complain to her new boss about one of her professors?

Tsunade glanced down at the Anatomy and Physiology book in Sakura's lap. "Hm? Except what?"

Sakura sighed, choosing to tell the doctor about Sasuke – for some reason, she felt she could trust this woman. "It's just my Anatomy and Physiology professor…he's a bit, hostile."

At that, the blonde woman cracked a smile. "Let me guess – Uchiha?"

"Yes!" Sakura set her book aside and turned to fully face Tsunade, who had taken the other chair behind the front desk. "How did you know?"

Tsunade chuckled. "You're not the first student to complain about him, trust me. I've had kids in here claiming PTSD after surviving his class."

"I just don't know what his problem is!" Sakura explained, letting her face fall into her hands. "I mean no disrespect, of course."

Sakura jumped a bit when she felt Tsunade's hand come to rest on her arm. "Lay it on me, Sakura," the older woman said, a hint of mischief in her eye. "I always love to hear about how our youngest professor is causing trouble."

"Well," Sakura began, excited to have a wiser party to share her troubles with, "It all started last Friday, when I met him after the party on the quad."

"Uchiha Sasuke was at the party?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow delicately, amusement clear in her eyes.

"No," Sakura shook her head, nearly laughing at the thought of Sasuke at a party. "He was smoking outside of the building that he lives in, and I passed him on the way to my dorm. He insisted on walking me back…which I wasn't expecting." After a moment's thought, Sakura decided to leave out the part about Sasuke being drunk and calling her pretty.

Tsunade made a face at that. "That seems very out of character for him. I've known Uchiha Sasuke since he was a child – our families go way back – and never have I known him to be particularly chivalrous."

Sakura nodded her head, unsurprised. "Right. Then, on Monday, I had the misfortune of discovering that he was my A and P professor. He made fun of me the first time I tried to answer a question in class, and then on Wednesday he scolded me for bringing in homework early – in front of the whole class! They all hate me now. And, not to mention, he accepted the same homework from another girl in class. She's kind of the ring-leader of all the students who don't like me."

"That sounds a little harsh even for him," Tsunade frowned. "Go on."

"But today in class, he was almost…nice to me. He scolded the girl I was telling you about, Karin, for trying to answer a question when he called on me. Then he didn't say anything derogatory towards me after I answered."

Tsunade snorted. "I would hardly call that nice."

"Oh, and one other thing," Sakura hesitated. "He told me to call him Sasuke."

The doctor's jaw nearly hit the floor. "He asked you to call him Sasuke? We're in uncharted waters now. I've never heard him be so informal with anyone, not even the other professors."

_Shit, _Sakura thought. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that. Throughout her schooling, Sakura had been on a first name basis with more than one of her teachers. While she hadn't been expecting it from Sasuke, she hadn't thought that it was too bizarre.

"I think it has too do with his age," Tsunade went on, crossing one leg over the other and getting more comfortable in her chair. "He's afraid of losing respect among the faculty here."

"How old is he?" Sakura couldn't help but ask. She hadn't realized how curious she was until Tsunade had brought up his age.

"Twenty-five," Tsunade had a thoughtful look on her face now. "Or somewhere around there."

"I hope I'm not being too nosy, but do you know how he managed to become a professor at such a young age?" Sakura tried to keep the interest she was feeling out of her tone. She didn't need Tsunade thinking she was sweet on her teacher…

Tsunade simply shrugged at that. "He's a genius – comes from a family of prodigies. A stupid Uchiha is about as rare as a girl with pink hair. He had his PhD by the time he was twenty-three. His family is nearly completely comprised of doctors, lawyers, engineers, and physicists. Him deciding to stay here and teach after graduating was a bit of a slap in the face to his family. He made up for it by writing a best-selling book and several highly respected scientific papers."

"Wow," Sakura tried to wipe the awe off of her face – the guy was still an asshole. "I guess that explains the whole superiority complex thing."

"There's a lot of pressure from his family to be perfect, I will say that," Tsunade's face was grim. "He also lost his older brother a few years back to a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer."

"Oh," Sakura's voice softened. "That would be horrible."

"Mm," Tsunade murmured. "The whole family is impressive, and Sasuke's brother Itachi was no exception. They're extremely wealthy, I'm honestly surprised that you've never heard of them."

"My family lived in a rural community and we rarely made it in to the city," Sakura admitted. "That's probably why. Not to mention, I was never very up to date with current events – I was always too focused on school."

"Have you always wanted to be a doctor?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura laughed a little at that, reminded of her vapid younger self momentarily. "No, when I was little, all I cared about was boys and my hair. It wasn't until I was twelve or thirteen that I really realized that I wanted to heal people. I started working super hard, taking as many extra classes as I could. It should only take me a couple of years to finish my undergrad."

Tsunade smiled genuinely. "Impressive." Then, "I like you, Sakura. That's not something I can say about just everyone. So, that being said, I'm going to do my best to help you here. I'll help you learn as many skills as you can here in the clinic, and then when it's time for medical school, I have connections at the Konoha School of Medicine."

Sakura nearly cried. Tsunade was a tough lady, but she was kind, and Sakura could see that in her eyes. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how much I appreciate that. Becoming a doctor means so much to me…my family, my parents, they could really use the financial help someday, and part of my goal is to be able to help them as much as I can."

Tsunade stood and ruffled the student's hair as though she was her own grandchild. "Keep your head up, Sakura. You're going to do just fine."

"Thank you, Tsunade-san, this means so much to me," Sakura was smiling so wide she thought she would split her lip open.

Tsunade raised her hand in farewell as she headed back to her office. "You might as well just call me Tsunade. If Uchiha Sasuke is just Sasuke, who am I to be so formal?" She chuckled a bit at this, but then turned to face Sakura with a more serious look on her face. "If he ever starts to make you feel uncomfortable, don't hesitate to come to me. I'm not sure what his intentions are, but he is definitely behaving oddly."

Sakura felt her blood run cold at Tsunade's words. She swallowed thickly and forced a smile to her face, nodding at Tsunade before the woman turned and disappeared into her office.

What _were _his intentions…and why did Tsunade seem so concerned about them?

* * *

"Come on, Forehead! It's Friday night! Please go out with us," Ino whined like a child who had just had her candy stolen. "Just for a little while at least?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, slamming her book shut and climbing down from her lofted bed. "Fine, but I get a free pass next weekend. This is the second Friday in a row that I've agreed to go out with you."

Ino squealed so loud Sakura had to pin her ears closed. "Yes! I'll go tell Naruto, he'll be so happy!"

"Who all is going?" Sakura asked while dusting the cat hair from her little black dress.

"Me, Naruto, Hinata, and Sai." Sakura didn't miss the dreamy lilt in Ino's tone as she said Sai's name – her crush on the boy was obvious. Sai wasn't so upfront about his feelings, but Sakura had known him long enough to see the longing in his eyes.

"Great," Sakura drew out the word dramatically. "So, I'm going to be the fifth wheel, hm?"

"No!" Ino's cheeks betrayed a little color before she turned away towards the bathroom. "Not at all! That doesn't even make sense…"

Sakura just rolled her eyes, choosing not to push the issue farther. Ino was very sensitive when it came to talking about Sai, which is how Sakura knew that it was real. Ino _loved _boy-talk, so the way she clammed up when it came to Sai just told Sakura how serious the blonde was about him. She was clearly afraid to speak up and ruin something. So Sakura let Ino have the little secret stars in her eyes and decided from here on out she would quietly try to push Sai into Ino's arms.

* * *

Yep, she was the fifth wheel. Naruto and Hinata had retreated to a dark corner sometime ago, and Sakura was very pointedly looking awayfrom them. _That _was something she definitely didn't need to see. Ino and Sai were at the dart board, and he was standing behind her, helping her throw. Sakura smiled over the lip of her drink – Ino had excellent aim.

She was happy for her friends, she really was, but seeing them together like that just reminded her of her own loneliness. Sakura had never had much time for boyfriends, school had always come first. Other than a date or two in high school, Sakura was totally inexperienced in the realm of significant others. She frowned to herself when she thought about how much longer she would be in school, and how much longer she was going to force herself to be alone.

"Drinking alone _and _looking depressed? What are you, forty?" A deep voice startled Sakura out of her thoughts.

She didn't even have to look over to know who it was. "What are you doing here, Sasuke?" she breathed out, not caring about the impression she was giving her professor.

"This bar isn't exclusively restricted to you, even though you might think it is miss know-it-all," his words were harsh, but his tone was clipped and teasing. He had since taken the barstool next to her.

Sakura turned to glare at him then, only a little caught off guard by the smirk that was playing on his lips. Deciding to be bold with him, Sakura replied: "I'm surprised that someone as pretentious as you considers me worthy to waste your precious words on."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes a bit at this, but the crooked half-smile still hadn't left his lips. "Most students wouldn't dare be so hostile with their professor."

"I'm sorry," Sakura smiled winningly at him, a bit disturbed by her own behavior at this point. "Want me to tone it back a bit, _sensei_?"

Her words didn't seem to have the desired effect on him. Instead of encouraging more banter, like Sakura had hoped that they would, they instead prompted him to close his eyes and grit his teeth slightly. "You shouldn't say things like that," he finally bit out, any trace of teasing gone from his voice.

Sakura frowned. "Like what?"

Sasuke opened his eyes then, and deep black met spring green in an ugly collision of colors and whispers. "It truly befuddles me how you can be so smart and so annoyingly stupid at the same time."

Anger and alcohol heated her blood, and Sakura stood up between their barstools in order to be closer to his face – closer to him. She was taken off-guard for a moment by the smell of him, just a touch of cologne, a hint of alcohol, a breath of cigarettes. It was incredibly…appealing, and Sakura hated that about him. Just another reason to make him insufferable and all things detestable.

He seemed a little taken aback by her sudden proximity as well, and his gaze had become somewhat transfixed on her exposed collarbone, his expression was somewhat strangled. The look on his face brought a smile to Sakura's own, and she realized that maybe she had a bit of power in this situation.

Reaching her hand up slowly, Sakura looped her thumb through the strap of her dress, pretending to rest her hand there absently. A strangled sound escaped Sasuke's lips to match the look on his face and his eyes finally shot up to meet her own. There was nothing but blackness there, and Sakura was quickly beginning to feel lost in the dark.

"Why are you so mean to me in class, Sasuke?" Sakura asked quietly, figuring now was her best chance.

At first, he said nothing, instead choosing to turn away from her as he dragged his eyes back to his drink on the counter. After one sip, a second, and a third, his answer came, quietly. "I can't help it."

Returning to her seat and not at all happy with his answer, Sakura pouted openly. She was known worldwide for her winning pout, and she felt no shame in bringing it out now. "What does that mean?"

"I'm mean to everybody," Sasuke frowned. "I'm just mean."

"Not as mean as you are to me!" Sakura began to feel heated again, annoyed that he wasn't looking at her anymore. "Everyone in your class hates me now."

Sasuke scoffed at that. "Nobody likes a try-hard teacher's pet. That's not my fault."

Blood officially boiling, Sakura finished the rest of her drink in one gulp. "Kabuto says he thinks I have a lot of promise and that everyone else in the class is just jealous."

Sasuke whirled on her then, and Sakura almost tumbled backwards off of her stool – and she would have, if Sasuke's hand had not clamped down on her arm like a vice. "What do you mean, Kabuto?"

Sakura winced a bit at his grip but said nothing about it. His hand on the bare skin of her arm was a little…distracting, and she had to focus to find her words. "He's the graduate teaching assistant in my lab. What's your problem?"

The look in Sasuke's eyes was stormy and terrifying, the grip he had on her arm not loosening a bit. "You shouldn't be talking to Kabuto," Sasuke's words sounded like the were barely controlled, hardly containing the rage.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura ripped her arm from his hand then, feeling defensive about the teaching assistant. "Kabuto is the only one in your class who is nice to me! No thanks to you."

"Kabuto," Sasuke spat his name out like poison, "Is a snake."

"He works for you!" Sakura said with equal venom. "Are you sure you're not just jealous that I like him and I don't like you?"

Sasuke's eyes flashed to her lips for a moment – quick but unmistakable. The anger remained written all over his face as he growled out: "Maybe. But that doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't trust Kabuto. He's an excellent liar and an even better sweet-talker. I hired him because he is a genius, and I've never had an issue with him and a student before. So stay the fuck away from him."

_Maybe. _Sakura had barely heard the rest of his words. Was this guy – her _professor _– actually admitting to what it seemed like he was admitting to? Sure, he was young, but still, he was her teacher. The thought both scared Sakura and excited her, and she tried to keep both emotions out of her eyes as she formed her shaky response. "You can't tell me who I can and can't talk to. Why should I push away the only person who's being nice to me?"

"I'll fail you," there was nothing but seriousness in Sasuke's words as he spoke Sakura's greatest fear out-loud. "I swear to god."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, doing her best to keep the fear from her voice as she spoke. "You wouldn't. I'll drop your class." She cringed as she said it, knowing that unless she dropped the class soon, she would still have to pay the fee for it. She definitely couldn't afford that. "And then I'll never have to see you again."

Furious, she stood to leave, and only paused when for the second time that night, Sasuke reached out to touch her. His hand landed firmly on her wrist, and this time the contact sent waves of goosebumps up her uncovered arm. She shivered unintentionally, and the darkening of his eyes told her that he had definitely noticed her reaction.

"Don't do that," his voice was constricted and quiet. "I won't fail you. Just…do me a favor and stay away from Kabuto."

"Why should I do you any favors?" Sakura frowned, not moving away from the contact that was quickly becoming intoxicating.

"Just…be wary of him, at the very least," Sasuke frowned, the fight seemingly going out of him. "Don't ever go anywhere alone with him."

"I don't think he's ever going to ask me to go anywhere alone with him…"

Sasuke scoffed at that, removing his hand and placing it back in his own lap. "You underestimate yourself, Haruno."

"What does that mean?" Sakura asked, taken aback completely by the compliment.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, no hint of humor or goodwill on his face. "You know exactly what it means."

"Sakura!" Ino's voice cut through the din of the bar and Sakura turned towards it. "There you are!"

Sakura stood then, torn completely between staying with Sasuke and getting out of his presence as soon as possible. "Hey, Ino-pig," her attempt at nonchalance was painful at best.

Ino spared Sasuke a curious glance before turning to Sakura. "We're about to head out, ready to go?"

"Yeah just let me close my tab," Sakura turned back to the bar then, immediately seeing that Sasuke had disappeared. "Excuse me!" Sakura called to the older female bartender. "I need to close my tab, please."

The woman smiled conspiratorially and winked at Sakura. "That handsome, dark-haired boy covered your tab before he came over here and sat down. You're all settled up."

Sakura's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she thanked the woman and turned to go. The look in Ino's eyes told her she had a lot of explaining to do. Unfortunately for Sakura, she had no idea what had just happened.

* * *

AN: Thank you so much to all you reviewers who stepped in to defend me against the spammer in the reviews! I was really upset about the whole thing and you guys made me feel so much better. Special thanks to the author sins with tragedies for stepping in and setting the guest straight.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I can have chapter 4 up sometime this coming week, probably within the next few days. Let me know what you guys think :) You're all the best and thank you so much for taking the time to read! I'm really enjoying writing this story and I have a lot of ideas for upcoming chapters. Prepare yourselves for some yummy SasuSaku moments coming up soon!

~ loony


	4. FOUR

Four

* * *

Sakura did her best to divert Ino's attention on the way back to their dorm room. Somehow, the blonde was able to keep her mouth shut until they were out of the company of the others – something Sakura was extremely grateful for. As much as she loved Naruto, Hinata, and Sai, she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with all of her closest friends having all the details of this…_odd _experience. She didn't even really want to tell Ino, but Sakura knew there would be no getting rid of her.

The moment their dorm room door slammed behind Sakura, Ino whirled on her – eyes alight with curiosity and the insurmountable need for new gossip. "Oh. My. _God. _Sakura!"

"Ino," Sakura groaned, rubbing her already aching head. "I don't know what that was any more than you do."

"Uh, I _definitely _know what that was!" Ino was practically squealing with delight. "He is _so_ into you, Forehead! And he's you're professor, and he's _so_ dreamy!" This time, Ino really did squeal. "What are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do?" Sakura laughed out loud. "You're kidding, right? I'm not going to do anything. He's a jerk and he's my _professor_. I don't even know why he would've risked doing something like that somewhere so public – anyone could have seen that exchange and I'm sure that could've gotten him in trouble. Or at the very least looked bad."

"If he's such a jerk, why do you care if he gets in trouble?" Ino's self-satisfied smirk made the tic in Sakura's forehead jump.

"Because it will look bad for me too, you know that nobody in that class likes me as it is," Sakura punctuated her sentence with a juvenile face flashed in Ino's direction. "If they think that there's something going on with me and the professor, they'll absolutely massacre me."

"_Is _there something going on with you and the professor?" the glint of pure mischief in Ino's eyes made Sakura nauseous.

"Ino, _no_," Sakura all but ripped her earrings out of her ears. "There is nothing going on. That was the most interaction I've ever had with him, and he was probably just drunk. You don't know how he actually is."

"I know he's _actually _got the hots for you," Ino threw a butterfly shaped pillow at Sakura. "You'd have to be blind or stupid to think he doesn't."

"Regardless, Pig, I have to ignore it, for all the reasons I just gave you. Not to mention, he's like seven years older than me," Sakura sighed, doing her best to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks. "He's probably just lonely or something, and he doesn't know what he's doing."

"You're so oblivious, Forehead," Ino pouted, grabbing her shower stuff and heading for the bathroom. "Just wait and see."

* * *

Every step Sakura took towards class on Monday was like a step towards her own funeral. She had never before so seriously considered skipping class – something Sakura considered to be especially heinous. There were only three weeks until the first exam, and no matter how uncomfortable she was, Sakura could not justify skipping class over something so ridiculous.

And so, she walked into the lecture hall, eyes downcast so as not to draw further attention to herself. She wasn't happy to be there, but if she could just push through the hour she'd be free of Sasuke and her horrible classmates…until Wednesday, that is.

Sakura's heart sank when she reached her row. Karin was in her seat, talking animatedly to the students around her. When the redhead noticed Sakura, she smiled at her with a fake, sticky-sweetness that made Sakura a little sick to her stomach. Gripping the straps of her backpack with a fierceness she didn't know she had in her, Sakura breathed out slowly through her teeth. She decided a fight over a seat wasn't worth it, and so she turned and trudged towards the back of the class where Karin's seat was. This time, she held her head high. Screw all the assholes, she wasn't going to care. She didn't care.

…she cared a little.

Sakura grimaced as she took her new seat at the back of the class. She had to squint to see the blackboard. Those glasses she needed had just never quite been in the budget, and now she was going to suffer for it. Anger bubbled up under her skin yet again, and she distracted herself by thinking of the many ways Karin could be smashed by a variety of large objects.

Those thoughts only held her interest for so long, though. Sasuke was late. Although she had only been in Sasuke's class three times, she got the feeling that it was very uncommon for him to be late. She was instantly reminded of their encounter on Friday night – of his behavior. He'd _almost _flirted with her, he'd bought her drinks. He'd warned her to stay away from Kabuto…even though she wasn't so sure about that yet.

The instant quiet in the class caused Sakura to look up. Sasuke had come flying in looking like a bat out of hell. His normally elegant hair looked like a pigeon had taken up residence there the night before. Sakura couldn't see him well from her blurry back-of-the-room view, but he seemed…_off. _His posture was slouched, and it looked like his shirt was untucked.

It took him a minute to turn and address the class, but when he did, his eyes immediately fell on Karin in Sakura's seat. Absently, he snapped the chalk that he had been holding in his hand in two.

"Uzumaki. Haruno. This isn't musical chairs. I assigned you seats for a reason. Switch back." Sasuke's tone was clipped. He didn't bother picking up the broken piece of chalk.

Surprised that Karin didn't say anything, Sakura began to gather her things. Normally, she would have been embarrassed, but she was getting used to being treated unfairly in this class. At this point, nothing much would affect her.

Her cheeks only burned slightly as she began her descent down the many steps towards her own seat. She did her best to keep her eyes averted away from anyone looking at her, worried that she might wind up punching someone if she wasn't careful. Karin was advancing towards her up the stairs, a look of pure malice marring her normally pretty features. As they passed each other, Karin stuck her foot out at an odd angle. The staircase was narrow, and so Sakura tripped over the offending appendage and flipped head over heels down several stairs, books flying. Several snickers and whistles erupted from the meanest of the students.

_Now _she was embarrassed, and angry beyond belief. Had Karin seriously just tripped her? How petty was this girl? Sakura winced as she stood to gather her books, a jolt of pain shooting from her ankle up the side of her leg. She had definitely sprained or twisted it. She could tell that her entire face was probably the color of a ripe tomato at this point.

"Uzumaki Karin," Sasuke's voice startled Sakura, and she looked up to see absolute loathing on the usually emotionless teacher's face. "Take your things and leave the classroom."

_Uzumaki. _Hm, Sakura noted that and decided she'd have to ask Naruto if they were related.

"W-what?" Karin's face went pale, and Sakura couldn't keep the grin from her face as she made her way back to her seat towards the front, limping slightly. "What do you mean, Uchiha-sensei?"

"I mean," Sasuke growled out, and Sakura was close enough to him now to see that he was grinding his teeth. "That you need to leave. Physical attacks against other students are not tolerated in this class."

"Attacks?" the feigned innocence in Karin's voice made Sakura livid. "She tripped!"

"I watched you trip her," Sasuke's voice was absolute, and Karin must have sensed it. "Leave. We will discuss your continuing in this class later."

Sakura didn't turn to watch her go, but she couldn't keep the shit-eating grin from her lips. Even though her ankle was throbbing painfully, it was almost worth it to see Karin get kicked out of class in front of everyone. She deserved it, after all.

Maybe class wouldn't be so bad today…

* * *

Sakura deliberately walked passed Sasuke's desk on the way out of class, meaning to shoot him a good-natured smile on the way out. Even if he was a dick, she was still extremely grateful to him for handling Karin. He could have easily ignored it and just pretended that Sakura had tripped clumsily.

As she made to walk passed him, his words stopped her in her tracks. "She did trip you, right?"

Sakura frowned at him. "Didn't you see?"

This mischief in Sasuke's half-smile caught Sakura off-guard. He coughed a little. "No. It was a hunch."

Sakura was dumbfounded. "A hunch? What if you had been wrong? I'm pretty clumsy. You _did _see the frisbee incident."

Sasuke's hand went to the back of his neck and he shrugged, looking effortless yet again. "She had it coming."

The classroom was empty now, otherwise Sakura wouldn't have continued the conversation for fear of unwanted attention. "You seem…tired. Are you okay?" Sakura could barely believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. This was _way _not a good idea. The future doctor in her had a habit of rearing its head at the worst possible moments.

Sasuke had begun to gather his things, pushing the sleeves of his untucked dress shirt up as he did so. Sakura couldn't help but notice the rippling cords of muscle in his forearms, and she swallowed thickly. Maybe staying after class was a bad idea.

"Yeah I'm…tired," Sasuke's voice was low, this level of civility from him was unnerving at best. "Very _tired_." He made eye contact with her then, and Sakura still wasn't used to the intensity of his gaze. Tired suddenly seemed like something else entirely.

"Um," Sakura didn't know why she was still standing there, but her palms were sweating and her ankle was still throbbing. "Well, I'm going to go to work, see you Monday." She took a step and immediately faltered, her bad ankle failing her immediately. "Shit," she muttered, lifting her bad foot off the ground momentarily.

"You should probably get that x-rayed," Sasuke commented absently while erasing the writing from the chalkboard, not bothering to turn and look at her. It was baffling how he could say something polite while sounding so indifferent.

Sakura actually laughed at that. "Fat chance. I'm sure it's just twisted." There was no way she could afford an x-ray for something so silly – her insurance was garbage and her copay would likely be ridiculous.

Sasuke turned to frown at her then. "Are you stupid?"

Ah, _there _was that asshole she knew and most certainly didn't love.

"Not stupid," Sakura bit back, "Just broke."

"Didn't you just say you were going to work?" Sasuke snapped at her this time, any hint of indifference gone from his voice now, replaced by that classic irritability.

"School isn't free, contrary to popular belief," Sakura was struggling with her temper now. "Not everyone has family money to lean on."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Sakura considered that she might have gone too far. "Don't talk about my family," Sasuke spat at her. Any trace of the smile that had been on his face before was completely gone.

"Don't call me stupid, then," Sakura ground out, turning on her heel to go, steeling herself against the pain in her ankle.

"Wait."

Sakura paused. The way his tone could shift from polite to indifferent to angry to pained in a mere minute continued to confuse her. He was the very definition of volatile.

"What?" she didn't turn around. "I don't know what you expect me to say."

"I could pay to get your ankle x-rayed."

Sakura spun around at that, immediately regretting it due to the shooting pain in her ankle. "No way! Are you crazy? That would be a total waste of your money. It's _not _broken and I would never except money from someone to get an x-ray of an unbroken bone. Thanks but no thanks. Why do you even care?" Sakura regretted that last bit, her tone was a little too harsh to be speaking to someone who just offered to pay a medical bill for her. "I'm sorry I just…can't let you do that."

Sasuke's mouth had worked itself into a tight line. "Fine. But can't your parents at least help you pay for one?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, regretting her pink hair as she blushed slightly and envisioned herself looking like a strawberry. "Ah, no. That's part of why I'm doing all this," Sakura gestured vaguely, completely unsure of why this man deserved any knowledge about her life. "You know, someday I'm going to support them and pay them back for raising me. So they can have a nice life."

Sasuke just stared at her then, with a look on his face that for once she couldn't read. After a moment, and then another, he simply nodded at her. "Noble," he said, and Sakura couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. She didn't much care at this point, as she was already shaky and sweating from being under his gaze for so long in addition to the pain in her ankle.

"I really have to go but…thank you," Sakura nodded back at him and rushed out of the classroom, not sure what she had thanked him for but not regretting it. One step out of the doorway, she turned back. "Sasuke?"

He turned to look at her, a slightly expectant look on his face that made him look so…young. Really _cute. _And Sakura's mouth was suddenly dry and her knees were suddenly weak and oh _damn _she needed to leave because _what the hell was happening_. "Nothing! Never mind," she all but squeaked, turning and fleeing the scene like a guilty child.

_Fuck_, maybe she should switch sections of the class…

But she knew she wouldn't. She didn't think she could.

* * *

Work was such a relief after class. Sakura only had to check-in a handful of students all shift. Tsunade sat and talked with her for a while, thankfully not bringing up her dark-haired nightmare. The doctor gave her tips about schooling and medicine, and told Sakura all kinds of stories from her days in the hospital.

Sakura felt extremely close to the woman for some reason – like she had somehow known Tsunade all of her life. She was like an aunt, or a second mother, really. Sakura would probably never voice that feeling out loud, but she couldn't help but feel inextricably tied to the woman on a deep level. It sort of reminded her of her connection with Naruto. It was special, and Sakura was very grateful.

By the time her shift was over, Sakura felt quite a bit better due to her time with Tsunade and getting to study uninterrupted for a large part of the day. She packed up her bag quickly, eager to get back to her room to put on sweats and go to the ultimate frisbee game – she wouldn't be able to play, but she wanted to be there to cheer on her friends.

Standing to go, Sakura immediately faltered on her sore ankle, nearly dropping her bag. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath, regaining her balance and wincing.

"What happened to your ass?" Tsunade's voice startled her, causing her to almost drop her bag yet again.

"Oh," Sakura did her best to laugh good-naturedly. "About that…"

"Spill." Tsunade's tone was unflinching, and Sakura knew that she wouldn't be able to lie to the woman.

"You know that girl Karin? The redhead in my class who doesn't like me?"

"Yes," Tsunade's voice had taken on a dangerous edge. "Go on."

"Well, she took my seat in class today – we have assigned seats – and Sasuke made us switch back. When I passed her going down the steps, she tripped me and I fell down the stairs," Sakura couldn't help but take a slight step back from Tsunade, the vein in the woman's forehead was quite frankly terrifying.

"Little bitch needs put in her place," Tsunade pressed her mouth into a firm line. "That kind of childish behavior is just pathetic."

Sakura couldn't help but smile a little then. "Sasuke _did _kick her out of class."

"Did he now?" Tsunade's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. "Any other stories about _Sasuke _you wish to share?"

"No," Sakura clipped too quickly, and she knew without a doubt that Tsunade could read her like a book.

"Alright, that settles it," Tsunade brushed invisible dust off her hands. "We're going for coffee and you're telling me whatever it is that you're not telling me. I'll take a look at that ankle, too."

Sakura simply grimaced while Tsunade gathered her things in preparation to close the clinic, knowing that the woman was on a warpath and there was no stopping her now.

* * *

"So," the blonde doctor stirred the milk into her coffee deliberately. "Lay it on me."

Sakura sipped her tea slowly, doing her best to stall and only gaining herself a few seconds. "Um, _well_…I mean, Tsunade, I don't want to get anyone in trouble or anything."

Tsunade dropped her spoon. "In _trouble_? Oh-ho, what kind of story are you about to tell me, little miss Sakura?"

Heat rising to her cheeks, Sakura nearly choked on her tea. "Nothing like that! I just mean –"

Tsunade held up her hand to stop the student from speaking. "Whatever you tell me stays between us – unless of course you're getting hurt in some way. In the case, I might have to kick that little pretentious bastard's ass."

Smiling a little at the older woman's terminology, Sakura decided that she really trusted the woman. "So, Friday night, I went out with four of my friends to the bar on Fifth. The four of them are essentially two unofficial couples, and so eventually they wandered off in pairs and I was at the bar alone. All of a sudden…well, Sasuke was there. He kind of…flirted with me, I guess. He keeps telling me he thinks I'm attractive without really saying the words. At least I think that's what he's doing. And then, well, for some reason he paid my tab, I don't know why. I guess he did it before he even sat down and started talking to me. He's _so _confusing."

Sakura had been staring into her mug of tea throughout her story, and when she chanced a glance up at Tsunade to gauge her reaction, she was met with open-mouthed shock. Maybe telling her the story wasn't such a good idea…the woman looked downright traumatized.

"Um, are you okay?" Sakura waved her hand in front of the older woman's face. "Tsunade?"

"I think I'm in shock," Tsunade shook her head. "What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Sakura?"

"Nothing! I don't know!" Sakura buried her head in her folded arms. "I swear, I didn't do anything to encourage this, although I always get the impression that he's somehow blaming for…whatever this is."

"Oh, Sakura," Tsunade smiled a bit. "It _is _your fault."

"I'm sorry, _what_?" Sakura's head flew up off the table, now it was her turn to be shocked.

"You're cursed with perfection," Tsunade rolled her eyes, assuming her regular sassy behavior. "You're beautiful, smart, funny. Even Sasuke can't resist you."

Sakura promptly returned her head to the table. "What am I supposed to do here?"

"Just be careful, Sakura," Tsunade patted her on the head. "Your secret is safe with me, but some of the other faculty might take issue with this. Don't let it get any farther than this harmless little flirtatiousness, it could end bad for you both. Especially Sasuke. The other professors are always on the lookout for a way to get Sasuke in hot water."

"Nothing is going to happen," Sakura groaned from her place on the table. "I'm not even sure he means any of what he's doing."

"Mhm," was all Tsunade said, as she went back to her coffee with a private smile on her face.

* * *

Sakura frowned from the sideline of the frisbee game, watching Naruto takeout yet another innocent frisbee player with one of his overly-ambitious throws. That boy was going to be the death of her one day, she knew he would.

Or Sasuke might…

Sakura swallowed thickly. _Why _did he have to be handsome? That just made everything so much worse and so much harder to deal with. His attention was really starting to get to her now, and while she thought she could ignore him, she now found herself sitting around idly and thinking about their last interaction. She couldn't afford to let herself get carried away – she didn't have time for boys…especially boys who were actually men and also her professor. It was all a bit of harmless flirtation, or something like that. She couldn't rationalize why he had offered to pay for her x-ray…maybe he was concerned about school liability since it happened in class?

No. She wasn't stupid, he wasn't stupid. But still, she couldn't quite figure out why he had done that, but she was exhausted thinking about it and she just wanted a break from him. She'd only known him a couple of weeks and already he was invading the private recesses of her mind.

At least lab was tomorrow, and she wouldn't have to see _him_. She had a full thirty-six hours free from his scrutiny, free from his suffocating, intoxicating presence. Sakura smiled, turning her attention back to the game just in time to see Naruto somersaulting into the endzone.

* * *

AN: hmm, this isn't my favorite chapter and it's a little short, but hopefully you guys like it. I couldn't really get it quite right. I _do _like chapter five, so I'm excited to post that one for you guys and see what you think!

Thank you for all of your kind reviews and for following the story! I do hope you're enjoying it :)

For those of you concerned that their relationship is moving too quickly: don't worry. I'm just trying to convey that they have this weird, magnetic attraction that neither one of them understands quite yet. There won't be any early love confessions or anything else like that xD

~ loony


	5. FIVE

Five

* * *

The next couple of weeks went by surprisingly smoothly for Sakura. Sasuke seemed to barely be paying any attention to her, with the exception of a couple of intense glances every class. Karin was leaving her alone, too. Sakura suspected she had been threatened with dismissal from the class after the tripping incident – maybe she would be calm from the rest of the semester. It wasn't likely, but maybe.

Kabuto had offered her lunch and study assistance yet again, and despite Sasuke's warning, Sakura had accepted. She couldn't see the harm in it. Lunch in a public place with her nice teacher's assistant the week before a difficult test? That didn't sound too horrible to Sakura. Plus, what reason did she have to trust Sasuke or his judgement? Everything about that man was a little…off.

A little off, but that made him all the more _interesting_. Sakura found herself thinking about him more and more. His hair continued to baffle her – always standing off his head looking like he had just stepped out of a wind storm but still somehow managing to look attractive and almost whimsically elegant. He was tall and lean and no matter how much his brooding and nasty attitude made her angry, it was kind of alluring as well. Sakura was starting to dread going to class not because of Sasuke's behavior, but her own. She was starting to linger at his desk more, exchanging quick words or glances with him, wishing for more the moment she walked away. Developing a crush on her teacher was _so _not in the game plan.

Sakura chewed on the end of her pencil absently at work, dark eyes and dark hair on her mind, her studying left unfinished. Tsunade's voice nearly startled her out of her chair.

"Daydreaming I see."

Sakura choked briefly on her pencil, steadying herself before turning guiltily to face Tsunade. "Um, yeah, sorry, I was just zoning out."

Tsunade simply shrugged, crossing her arms over her large chest and frowning slightly. "I don't care what you do when there aren't any students to check in. It's just a surprise to see you not studying, that's all. Got a _certain_ someone on your mind?"

"No!" Sakura blurted out, immediately cringing at the suspicious sound of it. "Nothing like that." How the hell could the woman read her so clearly?

"Mmmhhhmm." Tsunade examined her nails, looking bored. "Regardless, I came in here to tell you that I'm going to start having you assist with patient exams for some of you shifts. You can get a little bit of experience that way."

Sakura sat up straighter in her chair, had she heard that right? "Really?"

"Yes, _really_," the doctor rolled her eyes lightly. "You can take vitals and histories when necessary and do some basic assessments. We don't get too much in the way of traumatic injury or crippling illness here, but it'll give you some experience, at least."

Forgetting herself momentarily, Sakura launched herself into Tsunade, hugging the woman as she would her own mother. The woman stood there stiffly for a moment, before reaching around to pat Sakura carefully on the back, as though hugging was something she didn't do very often.

"Sorry!" Sakura slid back, a little embarrassed by her display but still extremely excited by the new tasks Tsunade had given her.

"Let's start, then," Tsunade cleared her throat a little awkwardly, ignoring Sakura's apology. "There's a young man in room two with flu-like symptoms. I'll go with you and walk you through everything. I'll have you check his blood pressure, temperature, and pulse."

Sakura nodded her head, doing her best to not hide behind her mentor as they entered the room together. This was a new experience for Sakura, she tried not to be angry with herself for being a little nervous. Still, when they walked in the room, Sakura still had a bit of trouble looking directly at the patient, and instead chose to glance down at the chart Tsunade had placed in her hands.

"Sakura-san?"

A vaguely familiar voice caused Sakura's head to snap up towards the table, and she saw the friendly face of Keiju smiling back at her. "Oh, hey, Keiju! Not feeling well, I see, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah," the young man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and chuckled. "I had been hoping to run into you again, I'm disappointed it had to be like this."

Keiju was cute. The slight flush in his cheeks due to his fever was endearing to say the least, and really just served to amplify that boy-next-door quality that he had. Sakura smiled at him politely and he smiled back…before he descended into a fit of coughing, that is.

"Alright," said Tsunade, finally speaking and taking the attention off of Sakura. "I'm going to listen to your breathing while Sakura takes your vital signs and we'll probably send you out of here with a prescription and a pass to skip class for the next couple of days. This strain of the flu has been very contagious this year so you'll want to stay away from your friends and classmates."

The check-up went well. Tsunade confirmed that he had the flu and Sakura was able to collect a set of normal vital signs with the exception of a high temperature. They sent him on his way as Tsunade had said: with a prescription and a pass for class. He turned and waved to Sakura, stating that he hoped to see her again and thanking her for his check-up. His smile was winning even though he was sick and Sakura couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Damn," Tsunade hummed with a low whistle. "You've got half the men at the school at your mercy already, don't you?"

Sakura blanched. "What? No!"

"First the Uchiha and then that guy? If you don't already have half of them under your spell you will soon," Tsunade beckoned Sakura toward her office as she said this. She immediately went to her desk and pulled out a bottle of sake, as well as two tumblers. "Sit down."

"You have alcohol in here?" was all Sakura could think to say as she sat and Tsunade passed her a cup full of sake.

"Yep," Tsunade answered simply. "Hey, come to think of it, didn't you say that you're having lunch with yet _another _gentleman friend today?"

"Geez, it's not like that!" Sakura coughed on her sip of sake. "He's my TA…in Sasuke's class. He offered to help me study, that's all."

"Mmmhhmm," Tsunade rolled her eyes. "What's his name?"

"Kabuto," Sakura supplied, taking another sip of her alcohol. She took a moment to acknowledge the fact that she was drinking before noon on a weekday…she might have to keep an eye on Tsunade from now on.

Sakura hadn't noticed the woman's expression change, but when the doctor cleared her throat uncomfortably Sakura was startled by the look on her face. "What is it, shishou?"

"Kabuto. I don't like that guy at all," the older woman finished her beverage and poured another. "He actually used to work here, too. The guy is a little too…curious. He sets my teeth on edge."

"Isn't curiosity a good thing?" Sakura questioned, feeling a little more uneasy about her lunch with Kabuto now that Tsunade also seemed to be against it.

"Not when it's the kind of curiosity that would lead you to cut a person's chest open just to watch their heart beat," Tsunade muttered with a grimace, more to her beverage than to Sakura.

"Um," Sakura felt her eyes widen a bit. "Please tell me he's never done that."

"Not that I know of," Tsunade shrugged. "But he's also extremely deceptive and a great smooth talker. I wound up firing him for some of his strange and sometimes perverted behaviors. Be careful, Sakura. Don't go anywhere alone with him and try to keep this restricted to just lunch."

"Sasuke nearly lost his mind when I mentioned Kabuto to him…he totally freaked out on me and told me to stay away from him. If he knew I was going to lunch with him he'd be pissed to high hell, he even threatened to fail me over it, although I know he won't," Sakura rambled out, confiding in Tsunade. She couldn't help but tell this woman every detail of her life, it would seem.

Tsunade simply smirked at this. "That Uchiha kid better be careful with you, he's going to wind up getting in way over his head. I'd like to place a bet now – he'll try to kiss you before finals week."

Sakura choked. "W-what?" she managed to cough out. "No way!"

"I don't always make the best bets, but I'm pretty confident in that one," Tsunade nodded once. "Just remember Sakura – you don't have to let him."

"I know – "

Tsunade held up a hand to signal she wasn't finished. "But, I'm not going to say anything to anyone if you do."

* * *

Sakura felt like there was a rock in her stomach as she walked toward the cafeteria to have lunch with Kabuto. Ever since Tsunade had affirmed Sasuke's opinion of the man, Sakura had seriously considered texting Kabuto and calling it off. She also kept having the very alarming thought that maybe she should talk to Sasuke about it…

That's how she found herself standing outside of his office door, her fist held up to knock and she shifted back and forth on her feet. What was she thinking? How in the hell would this be a good idea? Sasuke had nearly ruptured an aneurysm when he heard that she was even in his lab section. She dropped her hand back to her side, breathing out a sigh and planning to turn and go when the door was whipped open in front of her face.

Sasuke stood there looking as he always did, wildly elegant with his hair looking the very definition of graceful bedhead. He was wearing a navy blue dress shirt with charcoal dress pants today, a deviation from the usual black and grey he most often wore. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone and the sleeves were rolled up. Overall, he looked a little dishelved – but Sakura couldn't help but think that it was a good look for him. She swallowed thickly. Maybe this was a bad idea for another reason altogether…

"Um," Sakura started, cursing her inability to _not _be awkward. "Could I come in for a second?"

Sasuke took a step to the side to allow her room to walk through the door, but didn't move completely out of the way. His expression seemed skeptical. "Tch. Why?"

"Well, I, um, you see, I sort of have lunch today with Kabuto and I – "

Sakura was cut-off abruptly as Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her into his office, slamming the door behind her. He let her go quickly, dropping his hand immediately and clenching it into a tight fist at his side. Still not meeting her eyes, he all but growled: "_Sakura_. Why are you going to lunch with Kabuto?"

Feeling scolded all of a sudden, Sakura folded her arms and glared, doing her best to not be distracted by the silky way he had said her name. "He offered to help me study, it would have been stupid for me to refuse. He wants me to do well on the test."

"He _wants _to fuck you, idiot," Sasuke was pacing around his office now, and Sakura raised an eyebrow at his erratic behavior, a little taken aback by his sudden vulgar language.

"Nothing in his behavior has indicated that!" Sakura scowled, now feeling even more uncomfortable about her impending meal with the TA. She didn't think Sasuke was right…but still. Now _that _awkward thought would be in her mind.

"I don't need to see his behavior to know that!" Sasuke raised his voice and Sakura took a step back, she didn't know what she had expected but she didn't like to see him this angry. "You're beautiful and smart and young and Kabuto loves shiny new playthings. He's curious about you and he'll just keep pushing until he's seen it all."

"Seen it all?" Sakura swallowed. Sasuke had stopped his pacing right in front of her.

Sasuke's eyes traced down her form then, as though demonstrating for her what he meant by his words. Sakura felt her cheeks heat up, but she stood her ground, unwilling to be intimidated by her professor's bizarre and erratic behavior. His eyes snapped up to meet her own, and she thought she detected just the barest hint of color in his cheeks. Maybe he hadn't meant to do that? She knew she was blushing too.

"Listen, Sasuke," Sakura sighed, averting her eyes from his too-intense gaze. "I can't back out of this now, I'm supposed to meet him in thirty minutes. I don't even know why I came here…I wasn't planning on it. I just…I wanted you to know, for some reason. My boss shares your opinion of him, by the way, and so I guess I got nervous."

Sakura glanced up and saw his expression soften briefly just before he turned to face away from her and out the window, running a hand through his mop of hair. "Just don't go anywhere alone with him, he'd never try anything in public. You'll be fine."

Sakura nodded to herself. "Okay. I won't."

When Sasuke didn't say anything else or turn back around, she turned to go, feeling silly about having gone to Sasuke in the first place. He probably thought she was stupid, and for some reason that thought made her feel nauseous and pathetic.

"Sakura."

She stopped upon hearing his voice, glancing back over her shoulder to see he had silently walked to his desk and was writing something down on a scrap of paper. "Here," he held it out towards her.

She stepped forward and took it, looking at it immediately to see a series of numbers. A phone number, to be exact. "Is this your phone number?" Sakura felt stupid for asking the question, but felt the need to do so.

"Cellphone," Sasuke nodded, not quite making eye-contact. "Put it in your phone and text me yours. That way, if anything goes wrong, you can let me know. I'll be around all day."

Sakura's heart sped up a little, and she didn't bother questioning why she felt excited all of a sudden. She honestly didn't even really want to know why. She simply nodded at him, unable to trust herself to form words as she again turned to leave him alone in his office.

Pulling open the door barely an inch, Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when Sasuke's hand came crashing down on the door from behind her, just to her left, slamming it shut again. How in the hell did he move so quickly and so silently?

"_Sakura_."

There was that devilish tone again. She didn't turn around, but she could feel him standing right behind her, almost close enough to be touching…but not quite. The heat radiating from his body warmed her back.

His breath ruffled the hair on top of her head. "Just," he hesitated. "Be careful. I don't like this."

Sakura closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of him being so close. She tried to tell herself she wasn't crazy. He was a super attractive man and he just happened to smell almost as good as he looked. It wasn't bad for her to enjoy his attentions, right? _Right?_ "I…don't think I like it either," she finally managed, barely above a whisper.

"Good," Sasuke replied as he reached around her to open his office door and let her out. His hand brushed her arm after he had done so and Sakura couldn't kid herself into believing that it had been an accident.

She all but bolted down the hallway, feeling eyes on her until she had turned the corner and fled.

* * *

She got to the cafeteria early. She selected a table and sat down, pulling out Sasuke's phone number as she did so. She carefully entered it into her phone, deciding to put it under his real name. There wasn't really an issue with students occasionally texting their professors, after all…plenty of professors even gave out their cellphone numbers on their syllabi, so this was really not unusual.

She typed out a quick text to him that simply read _Sakura_,and then placed her phone in her bag, proceeding to wipe her sweaty palms on her leggings. She didn't know why she was so nervous, Sasuke himself had said that Kabuto wouldn't try anything weird in public, and she had already fabricated plans for after lunch so that she had an escape route.

Her phone buzzed in her bag and Sakura pulled it out, noting that she had a text from Sasuke. Frowning, she unlocked her phone and read it. _Is he there yet? _

_No, not yet. _She typed back her response and sent it. She hadn't been expecting him to text her, but she suddenly felt more at ease with him looking out for her. Not that she couldn't handle herself but…between both Sasuke's and Tsunade's accounts of the man, Sakura was now a little wary of Kabuto.

Her phone buzzed again and Sakura looked down to see that Sasuke had said: _Make it quick_.

Normally, Sakura would have been irritated by him telling her what to do, and she would've made a point to stay extra long at lunch just to spite him. But today, his commanding attitude didn't bother her so much, as she fully planned on keeping lunch short. _I have every intention to_, she replied.

Kabuto arrived shortly after that. He had brought notes and books with him, and soon Sakura had sort of forgotten about being afraid of him. He was extremely charming, and had a nice way of talking that just somehow put her at ease. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she had been warned about precisely that kind of behavior, but she honestly just couldn't find it within herself to be threatened by him. Over the course of their study session, Sakura learned about his orphan past – she suspected it was just a ploy to get her to like him, but she couldn't say that it wasn't working. Maybe Sasuke and Tsunade had just been exaggerating…

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Kabuto asked suddenly. "You seem kind of spaced out."

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry," Sakura apologized with a smile.

"Don't apologize," Kabuto smiled back, adjusting his glasses as he did so. "I'd say we covered enough for one study session, anyway. I actually have to go and get the lab set-up for a section I'm leading today, so I better get going."

"Thank you for all your help today!" Sakura stood up and began to gather her things. "I feel more prepared for the test already. I've been studying since the start of class but I was still nervous about it."

Kabuto nodded amiably. "As you should be, Uchiha-senpai's first test is notoriously difficult. But I can tell that you will do excellent on it. You're incredibly bright, Sakura."

Kabuto had placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her, but Sakura found it difficult to smile back. The moment Kabuto had made physical contact with her, she almost immediately got nauseous. For some reason, she was immediately put-off by him – she felt a little guilty as there was no real reason for it, but nonetheless, alarm bells had started ringing in her head. Something about the way he touched her just sent shivers running up her spine – and not the good kind.

Before she could really process the moment, it was over, and Kabuto was waving and walking away. Sakura lifted her hand in a half-hearted little wave before turning and walking the other way. She actually needed to go in the same direction that he had gone, but she suddenly felt an intense need to put some distance between them.

Her phone buzzed in her bag and she pulled it out to see a text from Ino. She also had a text from Sasuke that she had received over half an hour ago. Ino's text just informed her she would be out of the room for the night, and Sakura couldn't help but smirk. She had a feeling she knew where Ino would be spending the night.

Sasuke's text was much less pleasant. _Is it over yet? It's been an hour and a half, idiot._

Sakura rolled her eyes. She didn't mean to stay with Kabuto for two hours, but really, a two-hour study session was a short one for her. _Yes_, she replied, _he just left. He didn't do anything weird and was very nice. _She briefly considered telling him about the weird feeling she had gotten, but quickly decided that it was pointless. She couldn't really come up with a reason for her unease and so there was no point to anger him.

_Fine_, was Sasuke's reply, and Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at it. She could imagine the scowl on his face as he had typed it.

Replacing her phone back in her bag, Sakura began the trek to the library. The test was in three days and she had a lot more studying to do, after all.

* * *

Sakura found she couldn't sleep that night. She had grown used to sharing the room with Ino and being alone kind of set her nerves on edge. She briefly considered knocking on Naruto's door, but thought better of it quickly. He had an almost-girlfriend now, and so Sakura's relationship with him might have to change a little bit. Before Hinata, Sakura would've never hesitated to knock on Naruto's door and crash in his room. She would have slept in his bed without thinking anything of it and woken up in his arms without things being weird.

Her first sexual experience had been with Naruto – but it had only happened once and they had pledged to never do it again. Back in her high school days, it had been easy to mix up her feelings of platonic love for Naruto with romantic love. They both quickly realized that they weren't meant to be together in a romantic way, and the whole experience had gone on to strengthen their friendship. The bond they shared now was unbreakable, even if sometimes she got the terrifyingly strong urge to bash his head in.

Now, there was Hinata, and Sakura couldn't have been happier for him. She was only a little bitter when his new love interest indirectly affected her own relationship with the blonde. She wouldn't overstep her bounds, however, so instead of going to bother Naruto, she got out of bed and made to head outside for a little fresh air.

Groaning as she walked out the door and saw the clock on the hallway wall, Sakura accepted the fact that she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. It was already one in the morning and she had class at eight. She had always had a struggle with insomnia – she blamed her active mind and overly-busy imagination.

She was at the door to the outside world before she realized she was in a t-shirt and shorts and wasn't wearing any shoes. Rolling her eyes at her own obliviousness, Sakura accepted that maybe she was more tired than she thought she was. Regardless of all that, she wasn't going back up to her room to change and so she stepped out into the air of the brisk fall night.

It was cold, but it felt nice. The wave of goosebumps that broke out along her skin were stimulating and invigorated her sluggish movements a bit. Sakura took some steps into the grass just off the sidewalk, and she relished the feeling of the cool blades between her toes. She took a few more steps and then surveyed her surroundings, eyes immediately drawn to a shadowed figure in the distance standing outside of the faculty building…smoking a cigarette. As though she were being pulled by some sort of magnetic force, Sakura began to walk towards him leisurely. She wasn't even sure that it was Sasuke, but somewhere deep inside of her, she knew that it was.

She felt his eyes on her as she grew closer, and she blushed a little when she remembered what she was wearing. Her pajama shorts and baggy t-shirt covered the important stuff, but not much else. She didn't meet his eyes, but she drew up beside him quietly, tilting her head back to look at the stars instead of at him. She had no idea what she was doing there, had no explanation for why she had walked all the way over to him to just stand there like an idiot with no shoes on.

"You have class at 8 o'clock tomorrow, Sakura," his voice finally broke the silence. It had a sleepy edge to it, and Sakura silently cursed him for sounding sexy. He too seemed to be wearing pajamas, in the form of plaid pants and a black t-shirt with a grey hoodie. He was wearing shoes, however.

"So do you," she breathed out, not taking her eyes off of the night sky. She didn't think she could bear to look at him, for some reason.

There was silence for some time. He finished his cigarette and lit another, and for once, Sakura didn't feel like saying anything. She would address it sometime, she just didn't have it in her at the moment. Suddenly, the air felt very heavy around her. She closed her eyes and listened to the night sounds from the forest all around the campus. All of her senses felt magnified. She loved the brilliance of the nature of Konoha.

A gust of autumn wind whipped her hair across face, causing a fresh rush of goosebumps to crop up along her arms and legs. She was only now beginning to truly regret her choice of sleeping clothes as the chill began to become uncomfortable.

"Sakura," there was that wonderful, sleepy sound again.

She finally met his eyes, as she opened her own and he was already looking at her. "Hm?"

He coughed lightly and looked away, shrugging out of his hoodie. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle a little bit. "Pajamas, what does it look like?"

"It looks like shorts and a t-shirt and _no shoes_," Sasuke scoffed, but only lightly. "That might be okay for bed but it's not ideal for traipsing around campus at one in the morning in the cold. Here."

He'd thrust his hoodie out at her.

She stared at it like it was infected.

"Um, that's okay," she scrambled for words. "I'm fine."

"Just take it, don't be annoying," Sasuke shoved it all the way into her hands and dropped it, forcing her to catch it.

Without saying anything, she put it on, and was immediately surrounded by the smell of him. What had gotten into her? This wasn't some high school boy she could just aimlessly flirt with, this was her several-years-older-incredibly-dreamy-college-professor. And yet here she stood at his side, barefoot and wearing his jacket at one in the morning with no intention of going anywhere.

Time moved strangely then, and Sakura had no idea how long she stood there next to him. He eventually walked her back to her building, and when she tried to give him back his hoodie, he told her to just give it back later. He took one step backward, and then two, his eyes never leaving her own as she stood transfixed on the bottom step of the Senju dorm. It might have been an eternity and it might have been three seconds before he turned to go.

Alone on the steps, Sakura once again closed her eyes and allowed the wind to blow her hair haphazardly across her face. She would never have any idea how irresistibly appealing she looked to a certain set of midnight eyes as she stood there in the moonlight.

* * *

AN: Wow guys! We're so close to 100 reviews! Thank you so much! I really appreciate you guys taking the time to read and review, and I'm really hoping you all enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think :)

~ loony


	6. SIX

Six

* * *

It was the big day. The first exam in Sasuke's class. Sakura had woken up at six in the morning with her heart pounding and her stomach lodged firmly in her throat. She tried to calm herself down by thinking about how much she had studied, but nothing could reassure her. She would only feel better once she had taken the test and had gotten an A…hopefully.

She wound up getting to class at six thirty…and then promptly turning around as she couldn't bear to sit there for an hour and a half, waiting for Sasuke and listening to her classmates' bitching when they eventually arrived. She wandered around the back of the building, where the trees became thick leading towards the surrounding forest. She had always loved the tall, imposing trees that Konoha was known for – the leaves were now rattling gently in the wind beneath an overcast sky. She found a small stone bench along the walkway into the woods, and thought it was impossibly picturesque.

Sakura sat down, setting her bag down next to her and pulling her phone out. Almost automatically, she opened up her texting conversation with Sasuke. As though her fingers were being controlled by someone else, she typed out a message. _Your stupid test has me losing my mind._

The second that she pressed send, she wished she could reach out and take it back. What the hell was the point of sending a text like that? He was probably going to regret ever giving her his number. She groaned at the thought that he might have a talk with her relating to her inappropriate behavior. Now she was stressed about the test _and _the poor decision she had just made. She wasn't much of a texter, anyway. What on earth had influenced her to send that?

Her phone buzzing on her lap caused her heart to skip a beat. He was probably telling her off, it probably wasn't even him. She didn't even want to look…

_You know you're going to get an A._

She smiled and quickly replied, forgetting her worries for a moment. _I don't know that. I heard through the grapevine that Uchiha-sensei's test are particularly difficult. _

His reply came almost as quickly. _Well, I wrote the test, so I think I would know._

Sakura giggled. She didn't even care how ridiculous this whole situation was. So what she was sitting on a bench in the woods, giggling like a school-girl in response to her professor's cheeky text message? Totally normal stuff…

Another buzz from her phone caught her attention. Sasuke had sent her another message. _You're not already in class, are you?_

_Um, not exactly…_

_Meaning? _His short reply asked.

_I'm behind the medical sciences building on a bench in the woods…don't judge me. _She couldn't believe her little text had turned into a full-blown conversation. Apparently, he didn't mind her texting him…or at least he didn't seem to.

She did her best to not be disappointed when a reply didn't immediately come. She was lucky that he had responded at all – she was lucky that he wasn't scolding her for texting him about nothing.

Sakura thought it was over and had resigned herself to watching the birds flutter back and forth between the trees when her phone buzzed once again. _Why doesn't that surprise me? You should be sleeping. It's quarter till seven._

_I didn't wake you up, did I? _Sakura was suddenly concerned. As happy as she was to be talking to him, she would've felt guilty if she had woken him up over nothing.

_No, _his immediate reply came. _I don't sleep much so you'll never have to worry about that. _

The weight of his words smacked Sakura in the face like a brick thrown by major league pitcher. She'd never have to worry about that? Maybe she was reading into it but…that made it sound like he expected her to be texting him at odd hours of the night and morning.

She didn't even know how to reply. Should she reply? She wanted to but…damn she didn't know what to say to that. She settled for ignoring the part about not having to worry about waking him up and instead decided to try to be relatable. _I haven't been sleeping much either. _It was true, after all. Test stress and…_other _stress had most definitely been keeping her up at night. She'd been sleeping less and less every night, and she knew it was becoming more clear in her appearance. This morning, she'd had to apply concealer under her eyes just to take the edge off of the purple smudges there. Five hours of sleep a night had become a blessing for her.

_I figured as much after your little walk around campus the other night. _He answered, back to his immediate replies.

_Oh, that reminds me, I need to give you your hoodie back. I didn't think I should just bring it back to class, so… _Sakura debated if that text was at all okay to send, but sent it anyway. She was clearly already in ridiculous territory.

_Don't worry about it, I've got a bunch just like it. _

Sakura locked her phone without responding after reading his last message. Wow, was she in over her head or what? It was so easy to forget who he was…how not _okay _this whole situation was shaping up to become. Why was she letting this continue? Hell, why was _he _letting this situation continue? He'd had to have had other students interested in him before. There was simply no getting around it – he was too young and attractive to have never had a student melt into goo at his feet.

And that's when it hit her. Maybe he _had. _For all she knew, he might pick a new student to flirt with every semester. Maybe she really was as stupid as he teased that she was. Had she really been so naïve? She had started to really think she was feeling something for him…and she had deluded herself into thinking he might be feeling similarly towards her. It made way more sense for her to assume that he just used his handsomeness and asshole attitude to attract some stupid girl every semester. Sakura was more of a romantic than she let on, and that aspect of her personality had a habit of rearing its ugly head at the worst of times.

Sakura let her head fall into her hands. She had let herself get so distracted, goddamn it! What had happened to her plan? She'd been in school barely a month and she was already half-infatuated with her professor. _Great._

She sat like that for what felt like forever, mentally berating herself for being so childish and fighting off the pre-test nausea. Her heart nearly stopped when someone tapped lightly on her shoulder.

"Jesus!" she exclaimed, hand flying to her chest as she sucked in a gasp of air.

Sasuke held his hands up in surrender, very clearly trying not to laugh. "Startle easy, hm?"

"Um, yeah," Sakura laughed nervously, not sure if she was more surprised by the fact that Sasuke was standing there or the fact that he was close to laughing. "What are you doing here?"

He stood there in his typical black dress clothes, and Sakura couldn't help but think he looked _awkward._ That was definitely a first…

He quickly resumed his typical devil-may-care posture and expression, however, and Sakura had to wonder if she had imagined him looking uncomfortable in the first place. Maybe she had imagined the near-laughter as well?

"I just showed up early," he shrugged. "I sit back here sometimes, actually."

"Don't let me stop you," Sakura smiled up at him, secretly terrified by her own actions. She patted the space next to her.

Ah, _there _was that awkwardness again. He shifted back and forth uncomfortably before finally sitting on the small bench next to her, his side pressing firmly up against hers.

Sakura was torn between feeling panicked and being amused. Panicked because she had never been so close to him before…but amused because he suddenly seemed like a deer caught in headlights. Had her asshole professor actually sought her out on purpose? To…spend time with her?

"Here," his voice brought her back to reality. He was holding a slightly crushed blueberry muffin out at her.

"You…brought me a muffin?" Sakura was awe-struck. He was just full of surprises today. Suddenly, all fears of being just another one of his conquests flew out the window…at least temporarily. "I mean, thanks!"

"Tch. It's just a fucking muffin," he frowned, looking away from her as she took it. "You seem like the type to skip breakfast."

"I am," Sakura picked at the muffin slowly. "I've forgotten to eat multiple meals this week thanks to studying for your big scary test."

Sasuke scoffed at her. "Idiot, no wonder you look like you weigh about ninety pounds."

"I can't help it, I get distracted!" Sakura defended herself, taking a bite of her muffin.

Sasuke simply shook his head and remained silent. They sat that way for the remainder of the hour, occasionally making offhanded comments but mostly just sitting there in the quiet, listening to the sounds of the woods waking up for the day.

Twice Sakura had nearly turned to him and asked him what was happening with them, and twice she had talked herself out of it. She had a feeling drawing attention to whatever it was might kill it, and so she chose to remain silent on the matter. At least for now. It was very likely that absolutely _nothing _was going on, and saying such a thing would just be ridiculously inappropriate.

"Test time," Sasuke muttered under his breath, standing up and brushing the wrinkles from his pants. His words pulled Sakura out of her troubled thoughts.

Sakura stood too, smoothing down the hem of her casual dark green sundress. She'd put a light brown cardigan on as well to fight against the fall chill. She had left her hair down pulling just a bit from both sides back behind her head. It had grown far past her shoulders in the past few years, and she planned to keep it that way. A touch of makeup completed the outfit. Sakura had always believed that it was important to look your best on test days.

She looked up to find Sasuke's eyes on her. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were a dark sea of feeling. She wasn't sure _which _feeling but she couldn't help but hope that maybe he thought she looked nice. Even though she always dressed up for tests, she couldn't lie to herself and say that none of it had been for him.

The silence began to grow awkward and heavy as they stood there looking at each other. Sakura was desperate to save the situation, so she spoke up. "We better get going, we're going to be late."

Her voice seemed to be all Sasuke needed, as he looked away from her and nodded as she spoke. "I suppose it might not look very good for me if I walk into class late with a student."

Oh," Sakura trotted behind him, blushing slightly at the implication he had made. "Should I wait for a few minutes after you go in?"

"No," Sasuke shrugged without looking back at her. "I don't give a fuck."

Sakura felt her pulse begin to speed up again as they neared the classroom. Spending the morning with Sasuke had briefly distracted her from the test, but now her panic was back full force.

Sakura was great at taking tests, she _knew _that. But her test anxiety still frequently reached uncharted levels. Every scratch of a pencil, every sound her classmates' made tended to stress her out and distract her. She often felt ready to rip her hair out and cry halfway through every test she took.

She split from Sasuke just before entering the classroom. She was thankful he hadn't looked back, as she had stopped to lean on the wall outside the lecture hall. She was trying to control her increasingly erratic breathing and her shaky hands and was failing miserably. School was everything to her – it was the one thing she was skilled at and therefore she felt it was the thing that defined her. Plus, she also felt that it was her responsibility to get amazing grades…so she could get into medical school and support her family someday.

"What, are you having a panic attack or something?" Karin's snide voice cut through Sakura like a knife.

"Mind your own business," Sakura snapped, immediately straightening up and tossing Karin a hostile glare. Normally, she would've tried to ignore the girl, but Sakura just wasn't in the mood to be picked at. Sometimes, her volatile inner-self just took over.

"Hm," Karin turned her nose up and walked into the classroom, no doubt to tell all her little friends about Sakura falling to pieces right outside the door.

Feeling the need to prove herself, Sakura wiped her nose and began walking into class with as much confidence as she could muster. The snickers from Karin's group confirmed that Sakura had been right in her assumption of Karin's gossip.

The seating assignment was different for tests, in an attempt to prevent cheating. Sakura wound up in a seat without a student on either side of her, and she couldn't have been more grateful. Less distractions would hopefully help her make it through the test without having some sort of nervous breakdown.

Still, she was shaking so badly she dropped her pencil multiple times before she just sat it down in front of her and gave up. Every breath felt like such a strain.

"Calm down."

Sasuke was in front of her then, passing her a test and a bubble sheet. "You're going to do well," he muttered under his breath, likely so the other students wouldn't overhear.

Sakura smiled a bit as he walked away. The test couldn't be that hard…not if Sasuke was encouraging her. He didn't really seem like the encouraging type, after all.

The test began only minutes later, and Sakura willed herself to focus on the words on the paper and not on the wild beating of her heart. The first question…was easy. She barely had to think about it. Smiling as she marked down the answer, she chanced a glance up at Sasuke. He was sitting at his desk, reading over something distractedly. His ebony hair fell into his eyes in such a way that Sakura wished she could go down there and brush it aside. Her pencil eraser found its way into her mouth as she stared at him without embarrassment.

As though he sensed her watching him, his eyes snapped up to meet her own. His gaze immediately fell to the pencil in her mouth, and though she couldn't be sure from this distance, she would swear he had licked his lips.

_That _crashed her back to reality, and she nearly smacked herself upside the head for letting herself get distracted from the test.

The rest of the exam went smoothly enough, after her little indiscretion. Sakura grew more and more confident as she answered each question, and felt mostly safe once she had finished. She looked up to see that no one else was done yet, and debated if she wanted the attention of being the first to hand in their test. She quickly decided to do it, because if she just sat there stewing she was likely to overthink her answers and change something.

She gathered her things and walked down the steps towards the front of the room, her test papers clutched tightly in her hand. Sasuke had been watching her ever since she stood up.

"If you were nervous," he spoke quietly. "Then you should have actually taken enough time to think about your answers."

He snatched the test out of Sakura's hands briskly. She stared at him open mouthed, with half a mind to get into a fight with him right there in the middle of class. "I didn't need more time," she ground out instead.

"Fine, let's see how you did then, smart ass," he mumbled, reaching under his desk and pulling out a key for the bubble sheet.

She was at a loss with this guy. From muffins to insults, he flipped back and forth faster than she ever would have thought possible.

"Well, fuck," Sasuke's words nearly stopped her heart.

She _knew _she had done well, but now she was panicking. "What?" she whispered back.

"One-hundred percent," he muttered while writing the number on her test.

"R-really?" Sakura barely dared to believe it. "No way…"

"Check mine, Uchiha-sensei!" Karin's far-too-loud voice startled Sakura. "I'm sure I did just as well as she did."

Sasuke frowned at the girl but took her paper nonetheless. He scanned the bubble sheet with his eyes and then threw it into the paper box to his right, presumably to be graded later.

"Aren't you going to check it, sensei?" the pout in Karin's voice was highly exaggerated.

"You didn't do as well as she did," Sasuke shrugged, going back to reading the paper on his desk.

"B-but how do you know? You didn't even grade it!" Karin's voice had now risen to a truly unacceptable level.

Instead of hushing her, Sasuke matched her volume and spoke. "You missed the first question, she didn't miss any."

Karin's mouth hung open. She turned to glare at Sakura, her face almost as red as her hair. "W-well! At least I didn't have a breakdown outside class before the test!" Pushing past Sakura hard enough to make her stumble, the redhead went flying up the stairs and out the door at the back of the classroom.

Barely keeping her laughter in check, she looked to Sasuke to share a private giggle. To her surprise and dismay, however, he just looked angry. With a parting half smile and a nod of her head, Sakura turned to leave, hoping a certain angry classmate wasn't waiting outside to smack her in the face.

"Come by my office later," Sasuke murmured from behind her.

Sakura didn't turn, but she nodded her head discreetly once before climbing the stairs to leave.

* * *

Work passed impossibly slowly that day. All Sakura could think about was what Sasuke could possibly want to talk to her about in his office. First, he'd tracked her down that morning, and now he wanted to talk to her again?

What if he wanted to tell her they needed to stop…whatever it is they were doing? Except they weren't even doing anything… What if he was going to tell her she was out of line? The thoughts swirled around in her head like a tornado of terrifying scenarios.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" Shizune asked. "You seem out of sorts today."

"Oh," Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just a little headache. That test was really rough today." It wasn't even a lie, she _did _have a headache.

"Why don't you go ahead and take off? Your shift is almost over and I can cover the desk," Shizune smiled sweetly, taking the other chair behind the front desk.

"No, Shizune! That's okay. I don't want to leave all the work to you," Sakura straightened up in her chair, immediately feeling guilty.

"Sakura. Out. Now." Tsunade's voice came booming from her office.

"But – " Sakura began.

"OUT!"

Sakura blanched. "Yes ma'am! Er, bye Shizune, thanks again."

Shizune smiled at her and shooed her out from behind the desk. "Better go before Tsunade decides to come out here and make you."

"You've got that right," Sakura mumbled under her breath before fleeing to safety.

* * *

She stood outside of Sasuke's door for probably five full minutes before she got the courage to knock. Once she finally did, the response was nearly immediate. Instead of calling out, he opened the door swiftly, the air blowing Sakura's hair back from her face. He stepped to the side without saying anything.

Upon entering the room, Sasuke motioned to the chair in front of his desk for her to sit in, while he leaned on the front of his desk rather than going back to his own seat. His office was relatively plain. His desk and bookshelf were both made of dark wood, suiting his character. The window on the far wall let in just enough light so that he didn't have to have a lamp on.

"What's up?" Sakura asked after he didn't say anything. Her heart was pounding in her ears now.

"I need you to stop antagonizing Karin, she's a pain in my ass," Sasuke spoke slowly, no hint of humor in his tone.

"Um, excuse me?" Sakura almost, _almost _couldn't believe him. "She's the one doing all the antagonizing here!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Please. She's clearly just jealous of you. Stop rubbing it in her face."

Sakura stood up to face him, hands clenched into fists at her sides, tilting her head back so she could see him. Damn, why did he have to be so freaking tall all the time? "You've got to be kidding me! I've done nothing to her all semester!"

"You traipse into class everyday, looking effortless and outsmarting every single student in the class, meanwhile, you look like you're barely eighteen. She's threatened by you," Sasuke explained with his arms folded, lecturing her like she was a naughty child.

There he went, subtly complimenting her looks again! "I don't know what you expect me to do! I barely speak in your class anymore so I don't draw attention because they all hate me and I _am _barely eighteen! I can't exactly change that!"

_That _seemed to catch him off guard. "You're _eighteen_? My class is senior level."

"I took all the lower level A and P classes in high school," Sakura frowned at him. "I can't do anything for you short of changing sections of the class."

"No," Sasuke breathed out quickly. "This would be a whole lot easier if you weren't some try-hard over-achiever, you know. Have you always been this annoying?"

"If I wasn't a try-hard I wouldn't even be in this class, you would have no idea who I am!" Sakura took a step towards him, trying to seem confident in some way.

He didn't respond to that, he merely stared at her, his pesky hair falling into his eyes again. The silence quickly grew thick and heavy and heated as the stood there glaring at each other.

Boldness and maybe insanity gripping her from she didn't know where, Sakura stepped closer to him again, this time close enough to touch him. He didn't back away and she took it as a positive sign. Slowly, _painfully _slowly, she reached up and brushed some of the hair from his eyes like she had been wanting to all day.

His hand shot up suddenly and caught her wrist. She thought he would pull her hand from his face, but instead, he used his grip to pull her closer, touching her wrist just barely to the side of his face, almost to his lips.

_Damnitdamnitdamnitdamnit._

Neither of them dared move, Sakura had stopped breathing some time ago. She couldn't be sure, but it seemed like they were growing closer by the second. His head seemed as though it were shifting down closer, and she had definitely elevated on her tiptoes a little. Again, she couldn't help but describe the feeling as anything but magnetic. She didn't even feel in control of it anymore.

They got so close that she could feel his warm breath on her face…before a knock on the door had them flying apart like they had been electrocuted. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Sasuke nodded at her and she sat down in the chair across from his desk, praying that she didn't look as flustered as she felt. Sasuke took his own seat behind the desk and cleared his throat once.

Twice.

"Come in," he called out. Sakura thought she heard a slight tremor in his voice. Maybe that was just wishful thinking.

The door opened to reveal a chubby, older man with glasses so thick that his eyes appeared distorted. "Ah, sorry Uchiha-san, I didn't realize you were with a student. I was just coming to ask if you'd water my office plant while I'm out of town next week?"

"Sure," Sasuke nodded at the man. "It's no problem."

"Thank you!" the older man beamed. "Have a good day, Uchiha-san. You too, miss."

The man bowed and made to shut the door behind him, but it was pushed back open by another man just outside.

This man was old, but much more put-together looking than the last man. He was slim and well-dressed and had a certain air of power and knowledge about him. Sakura thought he seemed like an asshole. "Uchiha-san, you have yet to RSVP to the faculty event for this Christmas. I would be very _appreciative _if you would take the time to fill out your card and return it to me at your earliest convenience."

The mood shift in the room had been tangible. The first man who had come in had been pleasant, and Sasuke had regarded him almost kindly. _This _man however, had elicited a different response entirely from her professor. He was instantly cold and aloof, as he so often was.

"You'll get it by the end of the day," Sasuke all but spat out at the man. "If you don't mind, I'm helping this student."

The man's eyes drifted to Sakura, lingering a bit too long for the girl's liking. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to communicate this to him.

"I'm sure you are," the man looked back to Sasuke. "I'll leave you to it."

"Who the hell was that guy?" Sakura whispered conspiratorially the minute the man shut the door behind him. "Geez, what a putz!"

Sasuke pressed his fingers together in front of his face, leaning his forehead into them. "_That _was Shimura Danzo. He's been here longer than any of us. Asshole extraordinaire. He throws a relatively well-known Christmas party for faculty and…_elite_ alumni of Konoha University every year."

"Damn," Sakura whistled. "Are you going?"

Sasuke grimaced at that, looking up to meet her eyes. "I have to. It's expected of me, unfortunately."

"Ha!" Sakura chuckled at his expense. "Must suck to be rich."

He smiled at her then, and she was totally taken aback. The brief pause was enough to remind her of what had almost happened before they had been…interrupted.

"Um," she felt her cheeks redden slightly with the memory of being so close to him. "I should – I should go."

The smile disappeared from Sasuke's face and was quickly replaced by a tight-lipped frown. He was apparently remembering, too. He simply nodded at her, averting his eyes to look out the window at the leaves swirling around on the wind.

Sakura took her chance to leave while he wasn't watching, and all but ran out the door and down the hallway.

Just what the hell was she getting herself into?

* * *

AN: We met the 100 review mark! Woohoo! Thanks so much everyone! I am so thankful to you all for reading and reviewing and making this story so fun for me to write. I'm having a blast!

I really go back and forth with shipping Sakura and Sasuke. I think their relationship has some big problems in the canon, but I love reading/writing some good fanfiction about them! What do you guys think about Sasuke/Sakura as a couple?

[Cue rant]  
However…to the GUEST reviewer who has continued to accuse me of plagiarism: Bro, PLEASE stop. You are very clearly the same spammer from before, you are not being clever. Also, you are reviewing from a guest account and forcing me to address this issue in this way – I cannot direct message you. You are legitimately **giving me anxiety**. Every time I get a review, I am stressed out that it will be from you. Spamming my story and encouraging my readers to boycott me…wtf? I am completely baffled as to why you feel the need to behave in this childish way. This story isn't hurting anyone.

The author you accused me of copying literally reviewed my story asking you to stop and denying the accusations of plagiarism. They messaged me as well. You have now started accusing me of not only plagiarizing "a lesson in romantics" by sins with tragedies , but "Sakura's Secret" by roraewrites as well. **STUDENT/TEACHER AUS ARE VERY COMMON. **That is all these stories have in common. I have actually read "Sakura's Secret", it's a good story…but it is completely different from this one.

**This is fan fiction. **While copying someone's story is wrong and is NOT what is happening here, this site is devoted to stories that use characters and stories that do not belong to us. The Naruto universe and all its characters are owned/created by Kishimoto.

Any of my readers are welcome to check out the other stories to see for yourselves that this is not plagiarized – I appreciate you all so much and other than the spam from the guest, I am having so much fun with this story!

Chapter 7 coming soon…

~ loony


	7. SEVEN

Seven

* * *

He canceled class on Monday.

Sakura had spent the entire weekend in agony after that Friday afternoon in his office. She had been looking forward to seeing Sasuke on Monday, if for no other reason than to try and gauge his reaction to the situation. She didn't know about him, but the interaction had left her scared, but maybe also a little _wanting_.

The bastard hadn't even had the decency to send out an email. No, there was simply a sheet of paper tacked to the lecture hall door that read: "Anatomy & Physiology Canceled". Sakura frowned openly at the sheet of paper, feeling rather dejected as she turned to leave the building. Sasuke most certainly didn't seem the type to cancel class, that was for sure.

She didn't realize how angry she was until she had made it outside of the building. She had been looking forward to seeing him – not just to see if he seemed affected by their _moment _on Friday, but just because she kind of wanted to be near him. She chose to not think too hard about _that _little detail. Was he hiding from her? There was no way that he would actually cancel class to avoid seeing her…was there?

Foolishly letting her temper control her, Sakura whipped out her cellphone and typed out a message to him. _Why'd you cancel? _

She shoved her phone into her back pocket in a huff. She realized she had no real reason to be pissed at him, he was well within his rights to cancel class, but she couldn't help but be angry. The cancelation was unlikely to be related to her, she knew that to assume it was influenced by her was conceited. Sakura just couldn't shake the feeling that Sasuke was having trouble facing her after everything that had happened.

She decided to head to work and see if Tsunade would let her clock in early. If she wasn't going to be in class, she might as well make a little money instead.

It was early October now, and the air had taken on a substantial chill even in the daylight hours. Sakura pulled her sweater a little tighter around her thin frame as she hurried towards the on-campus clinic. She was _not _expecting the staggering amount of patients that she found upon opening the door.

"Sakura! Thank god," Tsunade waved to her frantically from behind a sea of people. "Get over here and help me check all these people in!"

Sakura did her best to stumble through the crowd towards Tsunade, mumbling apologetic "excuse me's" every time she banged into one of the patients crowding the desk. What the hell was going on? Was the plague back?

Without having to resort to crawling on her hands and knees, Sakura finally made it to safety behind the front desk with Tsunade.

"Here!" the doctor thrust a yellow mask into Sakura's hands that matched one she was wearing. "This is the worst strain of the flu I've ever seen. Looks like half the campus came down with it over the weekend!"

Sakura obediently took the mask from the older woman, fastening it behind her head snuggly. "What do you want me to do?"

"Try to get these fuckers in some semblance of a line, for one," Tsunade muttered under her breath. "Get everyone checked in and me and Shizune will tag-team assessing them." The blonde woman groaned as another wave of people came in the door, coughing and shivering with fever. "This is going to take forever. I hope you have time to stay and help?"

"Sure," Sakura nodded. "My only class of the day was canceled."

"Uchiha's class?" Tsunade quirked an eyebrow.

Sakura nodded.

"Hm," was all Tsunade said before turning to address the crowd. "Alright people, line up!"

The crowd was dense, and while it appeared some students were attempting to form a line, most of them continued to stand around like they hadn't heard Tsunade speak at all.

"Listen here, punks!" Tsunade's voice shook the room. "Those who do _not _comply and get in line right this minute will have their temperature taken _rectally_!"

_That _inspired the students to line up at a speed Sakura would have previously believed impossible.

* * *

Sakura stayed at the clinic for almost twelve hours. Tsunade hadn't been wrong…it really did seem like half of the campus had the flu. Students and teachers alike had swarmed in all day, forcing the clinic to remain open a couple of hours late. Sakura, Tsunade, and Shizune had all stayed and worked diligently until every last patient had been seen. Among the patients were Ino, Naruto, and Hinata, causing Sakura to groan internally. If her three closest friends were sick, including her roommate, it was only a matter of time before Sakura herself came down with the illness.

It was dark now as she walked back towards her dorm, and the evening air was sharp and cold against her face. Sakura wanted nothing more than to make a cup of tea and relax with a book, or maybe even a movie with Naruto or Ino. She was trying to decide what movie to watch when she was faced with the most pathetic site she had seen all day.

There stood Uchiha Sasuke outside of the faculty building, pale as a ghost and shivering harder than she was. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweats, puffing on a cigarette under the dull glow of the light outside his building.

Cursing herself for her own curiosity and him for his damn magnetism, Sakura approached him warily. He'd never answered her text message, it was likely that he didn't want to talk to her…

Oh well.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Sakura asked when she was close enough to speak to him, quoting his own words back to him.

Without looking at her he replied: "Pajamas."

"Why are you wearing a t-shirt? It's cold," Sakura furrowed her brow at him, putting the pieces together in her mind. Canceled class, pale skin, shivering? Now that she was closer, she could also see that a light sheen of sweat had caused his hair to stick to his forehead. "You're sick!"

"I'm not sick."

"Yes you are! Goddamn it, Sasuke! Go back inside! You're going to make yourself feel worse standing out here in the cold in just a t-shirt!" the future-doctor in her was _not _about to let him disregard his heath in such a way. "Do I have to drag you back inside?"

Sasuke shot her a sideways glance. "You might."

Steeling her resolve and daring him to challenge her with a sharp glance, Sakura sniffed at him. "Fine." She grabbed his hand, ripped the cigarette out of it and smashed it with her foot. Satisfied that that had been taken care of, she turned and pulled him towards the door of the building. "Key card," she asked without turning to face him, holding her hand out behind her. She was surprised when she felt the cool plastic card being placed in her palm – she would've thought he would've put up more of a fight.

It wasn't until she entered the lobby of the building with Sasuke in tow that Sakura began to become concerned that someone would see them. A student dragging her professor by the hand up to his room would _probably_ raise some red flags.

As though he was reading her mind, Sasuke spoke from behind her. "Almost no one lives here, most of the building has been converted to office space and even that is barely used. I live on the third floor and one other professor lives on the other end of the hall."

Nodding after being reassured by Sasuke, she led him to the elevators and pressed the button for the third floor. They didn't let go of each other's hands in the elevator, although neither one acknowledged the fact. There was no point for Sakura to lead Sasuke around by the hand as he was clearly willing to follow her, but if he wasn't going to let go, she didn't see a reason to either.

"Three-o-four," Sasuke mumbled behind her as they exited the elevator.

Sakura walked to his door quickly, wanting to be safely hidden in his apartment as soon as possible. She knew now that only one other person lived on the entire floor, but she still wanted to tread carefully. It only took one person seeing them – one person getting the wrong impression – for Sasuke to possibly get in trouble. And as much of an asshole as he was…Sakura could admit to herself that she didn't want that.

Using his keycard to open his door, Sakura was met by a very clean living space. It was small, but seemed fairly updated and nice. Everything was dark and had sharp edges and lines. Even the couch – it was black leather with squared edges and practically screamed Sasuke. She led him to it and pointed, "Lay down."

To her great surprise, he complied, folding his hands across his stomach and laying his head back against the arm of the couch.

"Do you have a thermometer somewhere? Or cold and flu medicine?" Sakura asked, not wanting to snoop around in his drawers and cabinets. Well, okay, she _wanted _to, but she didn't think that would be a very good idea.

"In the cabinet above the sink," came Sasuke's sleepy reply, sending a jolt through Sakura's stomach. _Man_, he sounded hot when he was sick.

Mentally berating herself for perving on her patient, Sakura quietly made her way into the kitchen, which was open to the living room. Stretching on her tiptoes, Sakura reached for the cabinet above the sink, frowning when she found she was too short to reach. Sighing dramatically, she lifted herself up to rest her knees on the counter so she could access the high cabinet.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke's voice sounded a little more awake now, and Sakura turned to see him sitting up on the couch, watching her.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she snapped back good-naturedly. "It's too high for me to reach."

Sakura had to lean back slightly to avoid whacking herself in the head with the cabinet, nearly losing her balance and falling backwards. She steadied herself, but not before she felt a pair of fever warm hands settle firmly on either side of her hips, anchoring her in place. She would never begin to understand how the hell he was so fast…

"You're going to fall and crack your head open," Sasuke's breath tickled her ear teasingly. "I'm not really sure how I'd explain that to the police."

Sakura didn't even dare try to speak. His close proximity and the heat coming off him in waves was nearly enough to melt her into a puddle of Sakura-colored goo. She reached up again, this time held steady by Sasuke, and grabbed a thermometer and some cold medicine with fever reducer. She was about to lift herself back off of the counter when Sasuke's arms wrapped fully around her middle and lifted her gently to the floor.

Sakura's heart was pounding so hard she was sure that he could hear it. He stood behind her now, with his arms on either side of her, hands resting on the countertop. It took everything she had to resist leaning back into him. He stayed like that for a moment, maybe more, before suddenly Sakura's back was met with a rush of cold air, signaling his departure.

A quiet, pathetic sound of dejection escaped her lips before she could stop it. Blushing furiously, she sucked in a few deep, calming breaths before turning to face him. She _so _should have just left him standing outside on his own…

Sakura turned to find he had moved back to the couch once again, with his elbows resting on his knees and his head resting in his hands. Just seeing him looking so miserable had Sakura regretting even thinking about having left him out in the cold. He needed her help and she was going to give it to him, regardless if she had to ignore her own inappropriate feelings of attraction.

She grabbed a glass from a lower cabinet and filled it with water before approaching him with the thermometer and the medicine. Afraid to sit right next to him, Sakura chose to sit on the sturdy coffee table across from him. Her knees brushed his – maybe it wasn't the best seating choice after all…

"Here," she said, poking his shoulder gently. He looked up at her then, and she was really able to look at his poor, sick face. He had deep purple bags under his eyes, along with peaked skin and red eyes. "Put this under your tongue," she handed him the thermometer.

Never breaking eye-contact with her, he took the thermometer and put it in his mouth slowly. Was he…teasing her? Whatever he was doing, she hated the way her eyes followed the device into his mouth, like she was drawn to it.

Their eyes locked for a moment – him sitting on the couch with a thermometer sticking out of his mouth like a sucker and her perched on his coffee table with a glass of tap-water and a box of cold medicine. The beeping of the device led to Sakura nearly dropping the latter.

Without thinking, she reached out to pull the thermometer out of his mouth, blushing immediately after doing so. "Uh," she coughed gently, embarrassed and suddenly more nervous than she had been in some time. "One-hundred and two. Have you not taken _any _medicine today?" Her embarrassment was quickly replaced by irritation as she scowled at the man.

He simply shrugged at her, causing her scowl to darken as she quickly opened the box of medicine and handed him two tablets along with the glass of water. Thankfully, he took the pills without a fight.

Nodding after he had taken the medicine, Sakura picked up the box and returned it to the kitchen, opting to leave it on the counter instead of climbing up to the cabinet again. As much as she had enjoyed their little encounter before, Sasuke was much too sick to be carrying her around.

Snooping in his pantry, Sakura came across a can of chicken noodle soup that had a thick layer of dust along the top. Actually, _everything _in the pantry was coated in dust. She figured he must eat out…like a lot. Typical man.

"Have you eaten anything today?" she called out to the living room, already knowing his answer.

"Does it matter?" came the short, stuffy reply.

Sakura merely rolled her eyes as she had already begun dumping the can of soup into a pot and had it heating on the stove. "Don't be difficult."

"You shouldn't be here."

Oof. _That _wasn't what she had been expecting. He was right, she shouldn't be there…but she hadn't thought he would say anything about it. Now that he had brought attention to it, she felt horribly awkward and rude for invading his space without really asking. Backing away from the stove and preparing to run out his door, Sakura prayed he just wouldn't say anything else and would let her flee without any more embarrassment.

"You're going to get sick," Sasuke's voice came from much closer this time.

"_Oh_," Sakura stuttered out, turning to see him leaning on the wall behind her. "N-no, if I get sick it won't be your fault. I was at the clinic with sick people for like twelve hours today and my roommate and best friend are sick too. I'm already doomed."

He quirked an eyebrow at her then. "Did you think I meant something else?"

Cheeks reddening furiously, Sakura spun around under the guise of checking the soup on the stove. "Um, no."

"Allow me to rephrase," Sasuke spoke with that bored tone he used for lectures. "I know what you thought I meant. That will never be the case, or a problem in my eyes."

_Damn. _Sakura chanced a glance over her shoulder at him. He was still leaning against the wall watching her, and she marveled over how he could still look so incredibly attractive when he was sick. She knew for a fact that she looked like a snotty, rat-haired ghost when she got the flu.

"Why did you work so much today?" he asked her, coming closer to lean against the counter to her left instead.

"It seems like just about everyone on campus is sick," she explained, grateful to change the subject. "Tsunade needed a lot of help with all the patients."

"Ah," Sasuke scoffed, but not unkindly. "I forgot that Tsunade would be your boss."

"Hm, you know her?" Sakura asked, feigning ignorance as she scooped the soup into a bowl for him.

"Our families have an interesting past, you could say," Sasuke shrugged accepting the bowl of soup from her. "I've known her since I was a child." He looked down at the bowl of soup in his hands for a moment. "Aren't you hungry?"

"No," Sakura lied. She actually _was_ pretty hungry, working all day had taken a lot out of her, after all. "I'm fine."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her skeptically. He stared at her for another moment before turning from her, shrugging as he did so. A shudder wracked his body then, and Sakura rushed to his side, practically forcing him back to the couch. He had a pretty high fever, he didn't need to be traipsing all over his apartment.

"Will you stop getting up?" she huffed at him after depositing him back on his couch. "You need to rest or you'll never get any better."

"Yes, _doctor_," Sasuke sneered at her (without any real malice, she noted).

"Geez, you're such a man when you're sick," Sakura rolled her eyes at him, not deterred by his attitude.

"What the hell does that mean?" Sasuke frowned at her, looking a little offended.

The look on his face almost caused Sakura to laugh at his expense, but she managed to keep her chuckle in check. She didn't think Sasuke was the type to enjoy being laughed at. "It means men always get a little bitchy when they're sick."

"Bitchy? Please," Sasuke scoffed, sitting up a little straighter on the couch, averting his eyes.

She couldn't tell if the color in his cheeks was due to the fever or something else.

He started coughing then, and a wave of sympathy washed over Sakura. He really _was _sick, she probably shouldn't be teasing him. "God, just lay down, will you? Do you have a blanket around here somewhere?"

Laying down on the couch with only half a glare in her direction, Sasuke pointed down the hallway. "In the hall closet."

Sakura nodded once at him, letting the caretaker in her take over the situation. She headed to the closet to get out a blanket for him, and couldn't help but smile when she opened the door. There were probably twenty pairs of tennis shoes in black, gray, and navy blue in the closet, stacked neatly on a little shelf. It seemed like Sasuke had something of a sneaker obsession…it was a little cute. She quickly pulled down a blanket from the top shelf and shut the door, not wanting him to think she was snooping.

"Here," Sakura placed the blanket at Sasuke's feet. "Don't cover up until your fever breaks, but you'll probably be cold when it does."

Sasuke just nodded. His eyes were squinted shut and he looked miserable. More sweat had broken out along his pale skin, and his hair was all but plastered down against his forehead. An internal debate was now raging inside of Sakura's head. Should she stay and help him? There wasn't much more she could do but…leaving didn't feel right.

Deciding to give herself more tasks while she made her mind up, Sakura trotted back down the hall to find the bathroom. Finding it across from the closet, she located a clean washcloth and wet it with cold water. What the hell, what the hell, what the hell was she doing? Those words became her mantra as she rang the excess water from the rag and returned to the living room with it.

Sasuke was still laying there, unmoving and pale in the lamplight. He looked borderline angelic. Somehow, he really just rocked the whole deathly pale look. _Typical. _

Approaching him gently, Sakura knelt down and bravely reached out to smooth some of the damp hair from his forehead before placing the cool rag across. His eyes had popped open to meet hers, and suddenly she realized she was far, f_ar _too close to him.

In her hurry to get away, she stumbled backwards not-so-gracefully onto her ass, legs splayed out to her sides like a child would sit. "Ah," she mumbled awkwardly. "Hopefully that helps."

He was still eyeing her, but Sakura couldn't even hope to read his current expression. It was shut-off and distant. Not cold, but not exactly inviting either. It seemed the man had absolutely perfected the art of hiding what he was thinking. At least sometimes, that is.

"Um, you said you knew Tsunade?" Sakura asked, desperate to get him talking instead of just letting him stare at her.

"Yeah," Sasuke raised his arm up to rest behind his head, finally looking up towards the ceiling. "The Senjus are…old family acquaintances, you could say."

"The good kind?" Sakura pried a little, curious about both his family and Tsunade's. Other than telling her she had known Sasuke since he was little, Tsunade had shared no more about her family.

"Sometimes," Sasuke chuckled a little before coughing some more. "Tsunade's grandfather and an ancestor of mine had a bit of a tiff many years back. They used to work together. There was a…falling out of sorts. Now the Senjus basically run Konoha and my family sort of supports it in the background, you could say."

"Hm," Sakura was genuinely interested now. "Did you always want to be a teacher?"

Sasuke scoffed at that. "No," he sat up then to face her, she had taken up sitting cross-legged on the floor. The rag fell from his forehead. "I didn't know what I wanted to be as a child. My father is a doctor, my mother is a lawyer. My brother was a lawyer as well."

Oh, dare she? "He w_as_?" Sakura couldn't help but ask.

The brief flash of grief in Sasuke's eyes made her wish she had kept her mouth shut. "Was."

"Oh," Sakura coughed a little, now feeling incredibly awkward for trying to be nosy. "Okay. Um, did you want to be a lawyer too?"

The change of subject instantly changed Sasuke's mood, and he quickly became more relaxed. His shoulders un-bunched and his mouth relaxed from the tight line it had become. "Not really. Of course, my parents would have been thrilled about that career choice, but I saw what it did to my mother. It wore away her spirit. I never wanted that."

"Did you ever want to be a doctor?" Sakura asked, glad that he didn't seem angry with her.

"I considered that, for awhile," Sasuke tipped his head back against the back of the couch, replacing the rag across his forehead. "But only when I was a child. As a teenager, I had no idea what I wanted to do."

"How did you come to the decision to teach?" Sakura sat forward a little, figuring she better ask as many questions as she could before he inevitably clammed up.

"I didn't, really," Sasuke answered, sleepiness clear in his voice. "I got a PhD in Human Physiology because I found it interesting. The week after I graduated, I was looking into researching position, as I am aware I'm not the most…personable. The Dean of the college of Health and Sciences here at the university asked if I would consider teaching a class just for the semester, while I looked for the right job." Sasuke paused then. "I guess I just haven't found that job yet."

"Tsunade mentioned that you wrote a book," Sakura said, trying to sound nonchalant. In all honesty, she was really curious to see what he would say about it.

"Did she?" Sasuke mumbled. "Yeah…I did. I had a lot of free time at the beginning when I was just teaching the one class. Now I have a few different sections to teach."

By the time he had finished speaking, he had slumped back over to a position lying on his side, arms folded up underneath his head. The steady sound of his breathing told Sakura that he was probably asleep, or very close to it.

Standing as silently as she could, Sakura gently placed a hand on his arm, trying to determine if his fever had dropped low enough for her to cover him with a blanket. She decided he was decently cool, and so she pulled up the thick blue quilt she had gotten from the closet and settled it around his shoulders.

After one last look at his peaceful, sleeping form. Sakura crept slowly towards the door, trying not to make any noise loud enough to wake him. She turned the handle to the door quietly, cringing when the door creaked as she pulled it open.

"Sakura," Sasuke's voice came quietly from behind her.

"Hm?" she turned in the doorway to face him again.

He was still asleep.

She turned to go again, this time successfully escaping through the door. Had she imagined him saying her name? Had he said it in his sleep? Did it matter if he had said it in his sleep? She replayed it over and over in her mind on her walk back to her dorm until she had convinced herself it was nothing. It didn't mean anything.

…

_Sakura_.

* * *

AN: Whew! Sorry for the delay in getting that chapter out. I've been pretty busy, and I have been absolutely OBSESSED with Minecraft lately. I play for hours and hours a day…I might have a problem. I literally took a break from it just to get this chapter out.

Thank you all so much for your support in regards to the guest reviewer who was trolling me, you are all so wonderful and I got so many kind reviews and messages. You all mean the world to me! Thank you to the other authors, roraewrites and sins with tragedies for both messaging me and telling me they had looked into the issue and for being incredibly supportive. You guys are amazing people! Everybody go check their stories out :) I was so thrilled to hear from them!

Hope you all like this chapter! Let me know what you think!

~ loony


	8. EIGHT

Eight

* * *

"Where were you?" Ino questioned in a snotty, sickly voice.

_Damn it, _Sakura cursed in her head. She had hoped she could enter their dorm room quietly enough that she wouldn't wake Ino. No such luck, apparently.

"We had to keep the clinic open super late and I stayed to help," Sakura decided on. It wasn't a lie, after all. "Pretty much everyone at school is sick."

"Hmmph," Ino mumbled, as she buried her face in her pillows. "I feel like I'm dying."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she assessed her best friend with her gaze. "Have you taken any medicine?"

After being met with radio silence, Sakura sighed. "I assume that means no?"

"You know you're never wrong, Forehead."

"You really are helpless, you know?" Sakura chided, before reaching into her desk drawer for some cold medicine.

"I know."

"You both are," Sakura mumbled under her breath.

* * *

Sakura woke up the next morning with a sinus headache so intense that she almost couldn't tell how bad her throat was hurting.

_Almost. _

She had been expecting to get sick, but at the same time she had been quietly hoping that she wouldn't. Pulling out her cellphone groggily, she checked her email in hopes that some of her classes had been canceled in response to the raging illness flying around the school. She nearly cried in relief when she saw that everything but her Behavioral Neuroscience class and Anatomy lab was canceled. She had a quiz in her lab that she couldn't miss that day, but a small, traitorous part of her told her it wouldn't kill her to skip Neuroscience…

She shook that thought out of her head quickly. She would wear her hoodie pulled up over her face and would sit away from other students. Skipping class just wasn't an option…she didn't think her subconscious would let her. They had a test in that class next week, and Sakura would wind up berating herself to no end if she wound up missing an important lecture.

Regardless, she still had a couple hours left to sleep since her first class of the day was canceled, and so she buried her head deeper into her pillows and willed herself to feel better when she woke up.

* * *

Feel better when she woke up, she did not. Sakura quickly decided that if there wasn't a seat at the back of the classroom in her Behavioral Neuroscience class, then she wouldn't stay. It wouldn't be fair to risk the health of her fellow classmates, after all. What kind of future-doctor was she if she jeopardized other people's well-being for her own benefit?

Luckily for Sakura, finding isolated seating wasn't a problem. After a walk in the bitter wind to the Neuroscience building, Sakura entered her classroom to find that nearly half of the class was absent, likely because they too were sick or just didn't care enough to come to class. Attendance wasn't mandatory, after all. Choosing a seat in the back of the room, Sakura huddled down into her oversized hoodie, (okay, not _her _oversized hoodie, someone _else's_ hoodie, but that was completely beside the point), and did her best to stay awake.

The lecture began promptly on time and Sakura found herself nearly nodding off more than once. Even though she had scolded others for neglecting to take any medication, Sakura herself had scurried out of her dorm so quickly that she too had forgotten to take anything to help relieve her symptoms. Now, she would have to suffer for a few hours, as she wouldn't have time to return to her dorm in between class and her lab.

An unnoted amount of time later, Sakura cringed as students around her began to pack up and leave. She hadn't even realized class had ended, she had been so out of it. She had barely taken any notes. It was probably a complete waste of her time to even show up…

Standing and stretching somewhat miserably, Sakura gathered her things, shoving them hastily and uncaringly into her backpack. She was in absolutely no state of mind to take a quiz, and a cold shiver of worry rolled down her back at the thought that she might not do very well. _Or _that cold chill may have been due to raging fever. Who could tell?

She trudged woefully from the building out into the whipping October wind. She couldn't remember a time when the fall weather had turned cold so quickly! She remembered seeing on the news the day before that the temperatures were record breaking lows for this time of year. Sakura didn't handle cold well – her slight frame was probably to blame for that. Even the fuzzy lining of her sweatpants and the extra fabric of the hoodie weren't enough to keep her warm.

In contrast to her empty Neuroscience class, her Anatomy lab was full, with every student in attendance for the quiz. Many students looked to be in the same state as Sakura – shivering and coughing and looking as though they had just rolled out of bed. Others seemed healthy, casting terrified glances at the sick as though they harbored the plague.

"Ah, due to the overwhelming number of you who are feeling unwell, let's try to have the sick sit on one side of the room, and the healthy on the other," Kabuto's good-natured voice rang out in the room. "Not to segregate you all but…I think it's probably for the best."

The students began to shift, the sick obediently shuffling over to one side of the room, the other students giving them a wide berth as they did so. Sakura couldn't keep the slight smile from her face as she noticed that Karin was lumped in with the sick students – her nose was almost as red as her hair. Berating herself mentally for being a bitch, Sakura forced her eyes away from Karin only to let her gaze come to rest on the lab's cheerful teaching assistant.

He was smiling sympathetically at her.

A chill ran up her spine for the second time that day, and yet again, Sakura couldn't decide if it was due to fever or something else entirely. She half-heartedly returned Kabuto's smile, hoping that he would assume her lack-luster response was due to her illness and not because of the growing uneasiness she was beginning to feel around him. What _was _the creeping feeling that she had suddenly developed towards him? Was it purely influenced by Sasuke and Tsunade's warnings, or was she sensing something sinister on her own?

Pushing all thoughts of evil lab instructors out of her head, Sakura attempted to get focused and prepared for the quiz. Kabuto had informed them all that since such a large amount of the group was sick, they would simply take the quiz and then be permitted to leave for the day.

The quiz proved itself to be relatively easy. It was twenty questions long and only took Sakura half as many minutes to complete. She waited for two other students to finish and hand in their quizzes before her to avoid any snickering from the anti-Sakura club. Pathetic, she knew, but she just didn't have the energy to deal with bullies that day.

She hurried out of the room immediately after turning in her quiz, not even bothering to give Kabuto a second glance before she rushed out the door and down the hall. All she could really think about was getting back to her dorm room and crashing on her bed. She was going to need a lot of sleep if she was going to peel herself out of bed in time for Sasuke's class.

Thoughts of the owner of the hoodie she was wearing caused her to frown with discomfort. Putting his hoodie on that morning had been an impulse decision, and a stupid one at that. What if he had seen her in it? What implication would she have been giving him? She had put it on because it was warm and comfortable – it had nothing to do with the fact that it smelled like him, nothing at all. No one else would recognize it since it was just a basic gray hoodie, but still…Sakura felt the sudden need to get into her dorm and hide away from the public's eyes. She nearly collapsed upon entering her room, throwing her bookbag down to the side as she tripped over her own two feet.

"Geez, can you keep it down?" Ino mumbled groggily from beneath a large pile of pillows and blankets. "Some of us sick people are trying to sleep instead of go to class."

Choosing not to answer her grumpy best friend, Sakura merely rolled her eyes as she climbed up the ladder and promptly face-planted onto her bed.

* * *

He still looked sick.

His skin was still peaked and he had dark circles beneath his eyes, but he seemed markedly better from Monday, at least. His voice only sounded marginally stuffy when he spoke and his posture was no longer as slouched as it had been. The feverish flush that his cheeks had had was nowhere to be seen.

Sakura, however, felt as though she was ready to be transported to her death bed. She had nearly talked herself out of going to class – and she desperately wished she would have only five minutes after the lecture had begun. She had never been so sick before. Copious amounts of Tylenol hadn't been able to calm her raging fever, and her body continued to ache like she'd been run over by a large and very angry truck. To top it all off, every breath was a struggle thanks to her congested nose and chest.

Sasuke had made eye-contact with her immediately upon entering the classroom, and had very clearly noticed her state of illness. His usually expressionless face had taken on just the barest hint of emotion, visible via the pinch between his eyebrows and the slight downturn of his mouth. As subtle as it was, Sakura couldn't help but be a little touched – she had never seen Sasuke exhibit concern like that before.

After about fifteen minutes of feeling like she was freezing to death, Sakura's fever worked its deadly magic and suddenly she felt as though she were on fire. Quickly stripping off her Konoha University sweatshirt, uncaring that she was only wearing a tank top underneath, Sakura was immediately grateful for the rush of cool air that met her now bare arms. The heat only lasted a few minutes, however, and Sakura was met with a rush of painful goosebumps and a deathly chill.

Grimacing as she caused yet another classroom distraction, Sakura pulled her sweater back on hastily, folding her arms and settling as far back into her seat as she could go. Luckily, the class was almost entirely devoid of students, as the rampaging flu had taken down a large amount of the student body and faculty. Only the healthy and the extremely determined were present in Sasuke's class that day.

About thirty minutes into class, Sakura truly believed she was reaching her breaking point. She could feel tiny beads of sweat breaking out on her temples and the back of her neck, yet she was still convinced she would soon be freezing to death. Just what the hell kind of sickness was this? It hardly seemed natural – not for the flu, anyway.

A prickly feeling down the back of her neck prompted her to look up at Sasuke, she had sensed his eyes on her. He held eye-contact with her for a few seconds before glancing at his watch, and then back up to her. This time, his expression betrayed nothing.

"Class dismissed."

Wait… Had she heard that right? Class was only half over…and Sasuke never dismissed early. Nevertheless, students all around her were gathering their things and quickly scurrying out the door – clearly not giving Sasuke a chance to change his mind.

Feeling as though she were half asleep, Sakura too began to gather her things, albeit at a much slower speed. Her arms felt almost too heavy to move as she slowly slid her things back into her backpack. She could barely believe how sick she was, she almost never got the flu this badly.

She passed Sasuke's desk as she always did now to exit out the lower set of doors. She turned to offer him a half-hearted smile, and was surprised to see he was already out from behind his desk, apparently waiting to walk out of the room with her. He met her upturned lips with a semi-blank stare, nodding towards the door after a few tense seconds had ticked by.

They walked out side-by-side in silence, until, characteristically, Sakura broke it. "You never dismiss class early," she prompted, immediately cursing herself for not phrasing it as a question. He wasn't obligated to answer a statement, and so he probably wouldn't.

"Hn, you're sick," Sasuke surprised her by speaking. "I was done for the day," he quickly amended, pointedly avoiding her gaze.

Sakura didn't say anything else and let the silence fall upon them once more. This time, it was slightly more comfortable. She didn't know how long Sasuke planned on walking by her side, but she wasn't going to complain.

The wind stung her face the moment they stepped out of the building. "Goddamn it," she muttered involuntarily, the chill nearly taking her breath away. "Since when does it get so cold in October?"

Her eyes dropped to Sasuke's hand twitching idly at his side. He seemed markedly uncomfortable, she just couldn't seem to put her finger on why. She reasoned she would probably never really figure the guy out – she suspected that no one ever had. Uchiha Sasuke was a mystery not meant to be solved.

"Tch. You wouldn't be so cold if you were wearing a coat," Sasuke frowned at the cloudy, gray sky above him, not bothering to meet her eyes.

"I see you're feeling extra pleasant today," Sakura muttered under her breath.

She felt his eyes on her then, and she turned to see him scowling at her. His expression shocked her, he looked genuinely pissed. She hadn't thought he was really mad, but maybe she had misread him? Was he pissed at her about dismissing class early? It wasn't exactly like he could blame her…he had been the one to dismiss and he by no means had to. She wasn't even sure that it had had anything to do with her!

She turned her head away from him quickly – a little too quickly – and nearly tripped as black spots began to dance across her vision. She stumbled over her own feet, already having accepted the inevitability of falling on her face like a moron when a strong pair of hands gripped her elbows, steadying her. She was suddenly nose to button with Sasuke's dress shirt.

"Idiot," his warm breath tickled the top of her head. "Why did you even come to class today?"

"I-I don't skip class," Sakura muttered, trying to regain her bearings. She was far too embarrassed to meet his gaze and so she continued to stare at the row of black buttons on his shirt.

"Tch, come on," Sasuke released her arms, motioning for her to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, trailing after him and feeling somewhat like a lost puppy. She looked around self-consciously, thankful to see that the campus walkways were nearly deserted. Luckily, it seemed that almost everyone was in class or in their dorm rooms with the flu.

"You're going back to your dorm room to sleep."

"I have to work soon!" Sakura spluttered, before coughing violently into her arm. Okay, Tsunade would _probably _send her home anyway…

The glare Sasuke sent her was enough to force her to drop the matter, at least for the moment. He turned away from her again and began walking, clearly expecting her to follow behind him. It was times like these she truly questioned her sanity. What was this stupid attraction she was feeling and _why _did it have to be towards someone so horrible?

Sakura had never had feelings like this before. Sure, she'd been on some dates, and yeah, she'd had that thing with Naruto. But none of her previous "romantic" encounters had left her feeling anything like she felt walking behind Sasuke, back to her dorm room. They weren't even talking, he wasn't even looking at her – and yet she still felt so inexplicably drawn to him. That was the only reason she didn't turn around and walk away from him right then, and it was a reason she didn't even fully understand.

They approached her building, only passing a few students on their way out who didn't seem to recognize Sasuke – or they just didn't care. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed the stairs and swiped her key card to unlock the door.

"Thanks," Sakura muttered under her breath, only half-serious. She was suddenly very ready to be out of Sasuke's suffocating presence. His gaze was just too heavy.

"Go sleep," Sasuke snapped. "Don't go to work," he added on, seemingly as an afterthought.

"Yes, _Mom,_" Sakura crossed her arms over her chest dejectedly. She sometimes couldn't believe how quickly the man could become so insufferable!

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, turning to go.

Sakura watched him for a few moments – long enough to see him pause. He stood there with his back to her, on hand in his pocket, the other clenched firmly at his left side. She thought for a moment that he would turn around and say something to her, but he didn't. He merely resumed walking quickly in the direction of his building.

"You…are…_kidding me_."

Sakura nearly ran back out the door rather than turn around. "…Ino."

* * *

"SIT!" Ino barked at her, pointing up at Sakura's lofted bed. "And spill your guts, Forehead. You're not getting out of it this time."

"Ino," Sakura groaned. "I'm sick. Can't you just let me sleep?"

"That's hilarious, Forehead. Real funny stuff. You just came back from class early – which _never _happens, and you were being escorted by the most handsome man to ever grace this campus – a man who also happens to be a professor of yours. This is the gossip of the century! You have to tell me _everything_!" Ino was practically dancing around the room – while blowing her nose.

"Pig, it's nothing," Sakura flopped backwards onto her bed. "It wasn't anything."

"Oh shut-_up_, Forehead! You are so annoying! You can't possibly expect me to believe you," the blonde snapped. "I'm your best friend, why won't you talk to me?"

Guilt washed over Sakura then. Ino _was _her best friend, and had helped her with boy issues in the past. Hell, she'd even helped her after the whole Naruto situation had happened… "Well…"

"I _knew _it!" Ino sneezed loudly. "Tell me!"

Sakura sat back up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I wasn't really lying Ino, there's nothing much to tell. Sasuke…dismissed class early. He was sick on Monday and I think he still isn't feeling well and…I-think-he-dismissed-early-because-of-me," Sakura rushed the last part out, feeling her cheeks heat up.

"Oh," Ino put a hand over her heart, closing her eyes and pretending to swoon. "That is _so cute_."

"He's such an ass, though," Sakura frowned. "He'll do something sweet, and then turn around and say something rude. I'm not sure why he acts that way, but it's taxing to say the least."

"This needs serious thought, Forehead. Stay put and I'll go out and get some low-carb ice cream!" Ino clapped excitedly.

"_Great_," Sakura half-smiled as Ino flew out the door.

Pulling out her cellphone, Sakura texted Tsunade letting her know that she was sick and wouldn't make it to work. Dragging a blanket up around her shoulders, Sakura curled up in bed and let herself drift off into a fitful sleep while she waited for Ino.

* * *

Sakura woke up sometime after her conversation with Ino, rubbing her eyes groggily and trying to clear the scratchy feeling from her throat. After a few minutes of stretching and shivering from fever, she felt her phone buzz from somewhere underneath her pillow. She reached her hand under the tangle of blankets and pillows to find her cellphone.

_Come downstairs_, the text from Sasuke read.

Sakura frowned down at the device, wondering if she was suffering from a fever induced delusion. Sasuke had been an absolute ass when he had left her hours before – why would he be texting her now? And why on earth would he be asking her to come downstairs?

She contemplated ignoring the message, (well, not _really_, but she was pretending to herself that she did), but still climbed down from her lofted bed and grabbed a pair of slippers. Pulling her hair back into a messy ponytail and grabbing a sweater for warmth, Sakura quietly slipped out her door, careful not to wake a napping Ino. She had already suffered enough at the blonde girl's hands for one day…the interrogation had been a brutal one.

She had had to explain things to Ino, being careful to leave out some of the more…_confusing _incidents. Sakura swore up and down a hundred times that there was absolutely nothing going on with her and Sasuke, but the glint in Ino's eyes told Sakura that she didn't believe a word of it. Ino was swept away by the idea of her roommate and the dreamy professor engaging in an indecent love affair, and the fantasy could not be removed from her mind, no matter how hard Sakura tried.

Sakura trudged slowly down the stairs towards the lobby of her building, confused and maybe a little pissed about Sasuke's behavior. He'd been in a royally bad mood when he'd left her earlier, and here she was, bending to his whim like a little puppy. Maybe she shouldn't have heeded his text, after all…

"Haruno Sakura?"

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by an unfamiliar male voice saying her name, causing her to trip down the last step of the staircase. "Hm?" she turned to find a delivery boy leaning against the wall with a bag in his hands. "Uh, yes? I mean, that's me…"

"Great," the boy smiled at her, extending the bag. "Here's your food!"

Sakura frowned then. If Sasuke wouldn't have texted her, she would have thought this was some sort of scheme that she should be running away from. "Um, I didn't order any food, though. Are you sure it's mine?"

The delivery boy matched her facial expression. "I mean, it's gotta be. The delivery directions said to deliver to a pink-haired girl named Haruno Sakura. You know any others?"

"No," Sakura admitted. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting this."

"It's no problem!" the good-natured boy smiled yet again, pressing the bag into Sakura's arms. "Here you go, enjoy!" He tipped his hat at her and ran back out the door, his speed and hyperactivity rivaled Naruto's own…

_Terrifying. _

Sakura glanced down at the bag in her arms skeptically. The warmth from it seeped through the brown paper and through her thick, forest green sweater to warm her chest, and she subconsciously clutched it tighter to herself as she climbed back up the stairs wearily. A delicious smell was wafting up from the bag, tickling Sakura's nose. It smelled like chicken noodle soup, she couldn't help but note.

Sakura paused outside of her dorm room door. Ino would most definitely question this new development. If Sakura claimed she had ordered the soup herself, Ino would be pissed that Sakura didn't ask her if she wanted anything. If Sakura told the truth, or what seemed to be the truth at least – that _Sasuke _had gotten her the soup – Ino would likely never recover.

Turning promptly, Sakura made her way down the hall to Naruto's room and knocked lightly on his door.

"Mmm, come in!" came the muffled reply.

"Hey, Naruto," Sakura sighed, pushing open the door to find her friend sitting next to a pile of empty instant ramen cups on the floor while he played video games. "Mind if I eat my food in here? Ino's napping and I wouldn't dare to wake the beast."

Naruto snorted at that. "Sure, Sakura-chan! Go ahead. Just push all the dirty clothes off of my bed."

Making a face behind Naruto's back, Sakura used a discarded baseball bat to shove the pile of dirty, smelly boy clothes from Naruto's bright orange bedspread before perching herself delicately on the edge, opening her bag of food as she did so.

Inside was the receipt, which included a note at the bottom. _Get well soon, _it read, in typed font. Sakura stared at the piece of paper dumbly for a moment, before quickly crumpling it into a ball and throwing it into Naruto's trashcan. She didn't even want to think about _that_.

The reality of the situation was hitting her then. Had he really gone to the trouble to buy her soup? Was he trying to make up for his behavior earlier? Did he feel bad that she had gotten sick after taking care of him? Was this something else entirely? She _had _to be thinking too hard about this…

"Mmm, smells good, Sakura-chan! What is that?" Naruto asked, never turning his head away from his game.

"Chicken noodle soup," Sakura murmured distractedly. "From Sasuke," she added on to herself, under her breath.

"From where?" asked Naruto, his excellent hearing picking up more than it should have.

"Um," Sakura blushed, reading the name on the bag quickly. "From Nagato's Noodles."

"Oh, cool! I love it there."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, the blush still staining her cheeks. "Me too, Naruto."

She pulled out her cellphone.

_Thanks. _

* * *

AN: Bleh. Sorry that took a couple days longer than usual. It's been a tough week. I'm _really_ not a fan of this chapter, like really-really, but I hope you are able to enjoy it! Chapter 9 is already written and I dolike that one quite a bit, so I'll hopefully be sharing that one with you soon. I'm about to start working on Chapter 10 ;)

~ loony


	9. NINE

Nine

* * *

Midterms were fast approaching, the weather was miserably frigid, and Sasuke had barely spoken to her in weeks.

Ever since the soup incident, he had been distant and aloof – even more so than usual. Sakura had stopped dropping by his desk on the way out of class after she had continually been met with cold eyes and barely-there responses. She refused to climb the stairs to the door at the back of the class, though. No. She proudly marched past his desk each time she exited the classroom, very pointedly looking away from him with her head held high.

She refused to dedicate any thought to the matter. There was nothing to think about, nothing had been lost.

Sakura flopped over onto her stomach, folding her hands behind her head and pressing her face down into her pillows. She didn't even want to look at the clock – she knew it was well past midnight. Tumultuous thoughts had kept her up on a nightly basis as of late, and she refused to believe that Sasuke had anything to do with it. Clearly, she had misread the situation, misread her own feelings.

She'd let herself get caught up in silly, childish daydreams. She really should be thanking Sasuke, after all, for getting her back on track. She most certainly didn't have the time to be nursing ill-advised crushes on her professors.

These were the mantras Sakura repeated over and over in her head as she drifted off to sleep that night – and every other night as well. She just wasn't sure why after all these nights she still didn't believe them.

* * *

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto spluttered at a volume that was nowhere near appropriate for that time of night. "No fair! When did you get so good at this game, anyway?"

"I've alwayssss been good," Sakura gloated drunkenly, sticking her tongue out as she killed his video game character once again. "You just forgot."

"Bah, I quit!" Naruto tossed his controller to the floor in a melodramatic rage.

Hinata giggled quietly from the bright orange beanbag chair she was sitting in. Sakura couldn't help but notice that the dark-haired girl's lavender eyes were a bit glazed over – definitely thanks to the alcohol. The alcohol was also probably to blame for the fact that Naruto hadn't noticed that Sakura had unplugged his game controller five minutes ago.

Knowing this, Sakura toppled onto the floor laughing, soon joined by Naruto, and to her great surprise, Hinata. The girl must have had more to drink than Sakura realized. As a matter of fact, _Sakura _had had more to drink than Sakura realized. And it was a Sunday night.

_That _thought was almost enough to sober her up. Keyword being _almost_. When she pushed her arms against the ground in an attempt to stand up, the world spun around her one too many times to make her feel comfortable standing.

"Mmmm, Naruto? Imma just sleepdownhere," she mumbled as she crawled over to the beanbag chair Hinata had since vacated. "G'night, guys."

She was answered by similarly slurred murmurs as Naruto and Hinata climbed haphazardly into Naruto's bed – Sakura was too drunk to be surprised by Hinata's behavior – and Lee simply snored in his sleep. He'd passed out hours ago.

Sakura curled up on the beanbag chair, too drunk and too tired to care that she was about to get less than four hours of sleep – and on a beanbag no less. Oh well, she had needed to let loose, and when Naruto had invited her over to hangout, she just couldn't say no. She needed an excuse to get a certain someone off her mind, and she could think of no better way than by hanging out with Naruto. He had always had a way of making her feel better – of making her feel loved and protected.

Sakura frowned dejectedly. She loved Hinata…she really did. But a small part of her couldn't help but be jealous of the girl now resting comfortably in Naruto's warm embrace. Sakura didn't _like_ Naruto – not in that way, that wasn't it. She loved him as her closest companion, he was her soulmate, in a way. Just not romantically. She berated herself for having those thoughts, but she just couldn't help it.

There had been many a night in high school that Naruto and Sakura had gotten into their fair share of trouble together. There had been many a night that they shared a bed – although only once romantically. Sakura couldn't help but admit to herself that she missed it. She felt a closeness with Naruto that she feared she would never feel with another man. She just…couldn't love him in the right way. And she knew he couldn't love her like that either. They had tried, they really had. Sakura was just grateful that their experiments had left them closer than ever rather than ruining their friendship.

Doing her best to replace her frown with a smile, Sakura forced herself to think about how sweet Naruto and Hinata were together. She genuinely _was _happy for them, but that didn't make the process of getting used to space between her and Naruto any easier. Normally, on a night like this, she and Naruto would've crashed in bed together in a tangle of limbs, no awkwardness between them because they _knew _each other.

Things were different now, though.

Tonight, Sakura slept alone on the floor while Hinata took her place, and more. Sakura always knew this day would come – the day where Naruto got a girlfriend or she got a boyfriend and they would have to alter their relationship. She just hadn't been expecting it so soon, or she hadn't been expecting it to affect her so much.

Maybe it was just because she was lonely…maybe it was just because on some level, she was upset about the way things had gone with Sasuke…

No.

She wouldn't think about that.

But she did think about that. She thought about it until she drifted off to sleep and her dreams were filled with dark eyes and empty words.

* * *

"Sakura," a male voice echoed off somewhere in her mind.

"Mmmm," Sakura swiped blindly at the air, feeling satisfied when the palm of her hand smacked skin. "Sleeping."

"Sakura-chan, don't you have class?"

_That _woke her up.

"Shit!" Sakura sprung up from the floor, cringing at the instant vertigo she was rewarded with. She had a cramp in her neck and major nausea, but she didn't have time to dwell on that. A glance at the clock had informed her that it was two till eight, and she was _definitely _going to be late for class.

"Damn it, Naruto! Why'd you let me drink so much last night, anyway?" Sakura whined frantically, tying her favorite black converse in a hurry.

"Don't look at me! You and Hinata-chan crushed that vodka," Naruto held his hands up in protest, a slight hangover blush coloring his cheeks. "Poor Hina is in the bathroom puking her guts out."

Naruto's words were punctuated with a female gagging sound – presumably Hinata – coming from the bathroom.

"Poor Hinata, tell her I hope she feels better!" Sakura grabbed her book bag from the floor, grateful that she had brought it with her the night before. "I gotta go, Naruto!" She reached over to hug him, and pecked him on the cheek before she could think better of it. She flew backward immediately, fingers raised to her lips and wide eyes directed towards the bathroom. Kissing him was _probably _not acceptable anymore.

"Heh," Naruto reached out to ruffle Sakura's hair affectionately. "It's okay. You'll always be my Sakura-chan, no matter what happens. Now get your ass outta here before you're even later for class!"

Smiling brightly at her precious friend, Sakura took off out of his dorm room door, prepared to run all the way to class if she had to.

The cold autumn wind quickly shut down that plan, however. The chill took her breath away almost immediately, and Sakura was forced to endure a brisk, teeth-chattering walk to class. Thank god she was wearing sweats and not shorts and a t-shirt, but they were Naruto's and they were absolutely massive on her small frame. She had spilled a drink on herself the night before, and Naruto had offered her a pair of clothes to change into. She obviously had no time to change before class.

_Great_. Sakura grimaced. She was about to show up late for class with her hair in a bedraggled, messy bun, bleary-red hangover eyes, and a man's clothes on. She would practically be screaming "I had sex last night!" when that couldn't be farther from the truth.

No, Sakura had spent a drunken night on a beanbag chair – and she now had the sore muscles and neck cramps to prove it.

It was eight o' nine when Sakura finally made it to class. She was actually impressed with herself, she'd barely been out of bed ten minutes and she'd made it to class less than ten minutes late. Walking to her seat was going to be the shitty part, though.

Deciding to swallow her pride and do it, Sakura strolled as quickly and as casually as she could to her seat. Luckily, the classroom had several doors – one of which would allow her to get to her seat _without _having to cross in front of Sasuke's desk – and that was the door she had chosen.

"Late, are we?"

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing those words. They were the first he had spoken to her in probably two weeks. She chanced a glance at him, a little startled to find him seething. People had been late to class before – sometimes he had called them out, sometimes not. She had been naïve enough to believe that he would leave her alone…

"Forgive me, Uchiha-sensei," Sakura had to grit her teeth to keep the venom from her voice. "I overslept."

"Tch." He scoffed openly at her. "Clearly."

Sakura's mouth hung open. He wasn't serious, was he? Was she still asleep on Naruto's floor and having some sort of sick nightmare?

"If you wish to stay in class, come to the board and solve a problem," Sasuke's tone was taunting as he turned from her, his motions stiff and guarded. It seemed like the stick up his ass had grown.

In a state of disbelief and total embarrassment, Sakura followed him to the board, debating on just running out of the room in shame. She was now on full display to the whole class, wearing sweatpants with the cuffs rolled up so her feet could stick out and a bright orange long-sleeved t-shirt that could've fit two of her in it. The arms hung far past her hands, and she had to push them up to her elbows to get them to stay. Not to mention, the orange clashed _horribly _with her hair.

Sasuke was writing furiously on the blackboard, the chalk straining under the force of his grip. She frowned as she watched him nearly snap the stick in half. What the hell was his problem, anyway?

"Wait a minute," Sakura mumbled under her breath upon seeing what he was writing. "That's calculus!"

"Tough," he bit back without looking at her.

"What the fuck, Sasuke?" she whispered quietly enough that no one would hear.

"Don't call me that," he shot her a look so nasty then that she shrunk back a few paces. Was he really so furious with her for being late? He had never done this to any of the other students…

"Fine," Sakura clenched her jaw, determined then to beat him at his stupid game – whatever it was. "Pardon my insolence, Uchiha-sensei. It will _never _happen again."

Sakura was painfully aware of all the eyes on her at that moment as Sasuke deposited the chalk in her hand, giving her an unmistakably charged look as he did so. He turned then and resumed lecturing the class as though nothing had happened.

Furious beyond belief, Sakura marched over to the chalkboard and took in the problem. It was a hard one, to be sure, but she was pretty sure she could do it. It would just take a few moments. She smirked at her looming victory – Sasuke probably thought she wouldn't be able to do it. Little did he know, she had tutored AP Calculus in high school.

A few minutes later, Sakura ceremoniously dropped the chalk onto the lip of the chalkboard and marched straight past Sasuke to her seat, not turning around to see if he was checking her work or not. She was confident that she was correct, and she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her look over her shoulder.

Only when she had settled into her seat did she chance a glance at her ruthless professor. An unchecked smile painted her lips when she saw the grimace that had taken over his mouth as he continued to teach. He actually had the nerve to be pissed that she got the answer right! Sakura then immediately questioned her own sanity – had she imagined every moment of kindness, every fleeting glance they had shared? It was as though none of that had happened and he hated her as much as a certain group of her classmates did.

She twisted the hem of Naruto's t-shirt in her hand anxiously. _This _was why she loved Naruto – he never pulled any of this passive-aggressive, confusing bullshit with her. He was always the type to be upfront with his feelings, and he would _never _humiliate her purposefully. Meanwhile, she looked up to find Sasuke positively glaring daggers at her, as though she had ritualistically sacrificed his first born and burnt down his house.

The force of his loathing felt like a physical push, and Sakura found herself shrinking further and further back into her chair. The animosity was rolling off of him in waves and it was starting to make her feel sick – or maybe it was just the hangover. She couldn't be sure.

The rest of class was equally brutal. He kept the whole class over for ten minutes since she was late – he was sure to point that out. He couldn't _technically _do that, but everyone had seen what he had done to Sakura and were scared to incur his wrath, and so they all stayed for the extra time. Sakura felt the weight of about a hundred glaring pairs of eyes on the back of her head and nearly cried. He was making it _very _easy for her to hate him in that moment.

She was frozen in place, frozen with anger, humiliation, and confusion. He dismissed class and she couldn't find it within herself to stand up and walk out. She sat motionless in her seat as her classmates filtered out around her, some people frowning at her, some people just walking past.

"How's it feel, _teacher's pet_?" Karin's infuriating voice pierced Sakura's ears.

"It feels wonderful," Sakura smiled at Karin, cursing her quivering bottom lip. "You really should try it sometime."

Karin merely snorted at her before flipping her hair and walking away, stopping to chat with Sasuke at his desk for a moment before she left. Sakura let her head fall into her folded arms on her desk, not caring that the last few students in the classroom would see her breaking down. She was beyond the point of caring.

School came easy to her, that much was true, but the stress of impending midterms and grades and medical school and her family were weighing heavily upon her and she was _tired_. No matter how well she did, how hard she tried, she felt belittled – not only by others but by herself. Nothing was ever good enough, and the race for perfection was taking its toll on her.

Sasuke had approached her, she could tell he was standing in the row in front of her. Without looking up, voice barely cracking above a whisper, she asked: "Why?"

Ignoring her completely he replied, "Late to class and wearing her boyfriend's clothes? Tch, doesn't seem like you."

Sakura's head snapped up at that, her fury momentarily outweighing her sorrow. "Excuse me?"

Sasuke simply shrugged at her, still standing in the row in front of her, towering over her as she sat slumped in her chair dejectedly. His scowl was positively menacing.

"What's your problem?" Sakura fumed, finally letting her anger take over as she sprang from her seat, suddenly gaining the height advantage from her upper level. "What the _fuck_ was that?"

"That was fair treatment for a student who shows up late," Sasuke growled at her, clearly furious himself.

"You've never done that to _anyone _else for being late and you know it!" Sakura was practically shouting now, but she didn't care as the classroom was empty. "You're just doing it to me because – because you…"

"Because I what, Sakura?" Sasuke asked darkly. "Spit it out."

Sakura blushed deeply then, but she couldn't be bothered to care. "B-because you hate me! You like to fuck with my head and make me look stupid!"

"Such a dirty _mouth_, Sakura. Didn't your mother teach you better?" Sasuke's voice was positively icy, but still managed to hold a seductive edge that only served to infuriate her.

"Yeah, well I'm pissed, Sasuke!" she paused upon realizing her error. "Oh wait, sorry. Uchiha-sensei or your majesty? Which do you prefer?"

_That_ clearly pissed him off. "Most students who show up late don't waltz in looking like they just – "

He cut himself off, but his insinuation had been obvious.

Sakura was so angry she almost couldn't form words. "You're…you're telling me…that you did that to me, in front of a class of students, many of whom already _hate _me, because what? Because it looks like I…had sex last night? Is that honestly what you're saying to me?"

Sasuke didn't reply, but the way he crossed his arms over his chest and pressed his lips into a thin, angry line was the only answer she needed.

The fight went out of her suddenly and completely then, and she dropped back into her chair, unable to even process what was happening.

"What is the matter with you?" the words came tumbling out, and Sakura almost didn't care how disrespectful it sounded. Once the flow of words started she couldn't stop them, and was horrified to feel a lonely tear streak down her left cheek. "I spent the night…on a fucking _beanbag _chair on the floor. I spilled a drink on myself, borrowed some clothes from my friend, got drunk, and played video games until three in the morning because I needed a break. I slept very much alone, please and thank you. Not that it's your business." She turned her eyes bitterly to him then. "I should have transferred out of this class when I still could."

He was just staring at her, but the pinched glare was gone. It had been replaced with a mask of cool indifference. Her heart wrenched inside her chest as she realized that he just didn't care.

In an attempt to salvage what was left of her dignity, Sakura hastily grabbed her bag and made a beeline for the exit, planning to call Tsunade and ask for the day off so she could go lie in her bed and bemoan her existence.

"Sakura."

The deep, tempting sound of his voice was almost enough to stop her in her tracks on the way to the door.

Almost.

Ignoring temptation, Sakura continued forward and away from the man who could seemingly cause her nothing but pain.

* * *

"So how are your classes going, honey?"

Sakura finished chewing her food before answering her father. "Not too bad! Midterms are coming up next week!"

Sakura had offered to take her parents out for hamburgers, she'd saved up some extra money from work and had requested they come for a visit. Her mother had a soothing presence that always helped to calm Sakura's nerves, and her father was great for moral support.

She hadn't told them about her professor from hell and she didn't plan to. Her mother would be horrified (and maybe a little intrigued) and her father would probably want to hit him. No, she had best leave that little tidbit out.

Her parents thanked her for dinner and drove her back to campus, dropping her off at the library with a hug and a kiss each.

Sakura studied for a few hours before heading back to her dorm. It took a large amount of willpower to ignore the fact that she had an extra hoodie in her backpack as the biting night wind caused her to shiver violently. She was already wearing a thick hoodie of her own, and a long-sleeve shirt underneath that. She didn't own a winter coat.

No, the hoodie in her bag would be returning to its owner. She was embarrassed that she had kept it as long as she had. She just hoped that he would be standing outside smoking so that she could return it easily and discreetly.

As if the devil himself had chosen to answer her prayer, Sasuke stood outside his building poisoning himself. Sakura pulled the hoodie from her bag as she approached him, not caring that he was clearly refusing to look at her.

She thrust the hoodie out at him when she was close enough, much like he had done when he had originally given it to her. In typical Sasuke fashion, he ignored her.

She simply shoved it into his hands then and let go – again like he had done to her, and she turned away from him to go. The pang in her chest was unexpected and painful.

"I told you to keep it, idiot."

Sakura clenched her fists at her sides, not turning to face him. "Yeah? Well I don't want it. Sorry, it smells like a girl now."

She heard his intake of breath, clearly being muffled by the fabric of his hoodie. "No," came his quiet reply. "It smells like _you._"

Sakura faltered at that. _Why _did he have to say things like that? Was he really cruel enough to be purposefully messing with her? "Why do you say things like that?" she decided to speak her mind.

"You got the problem right," he said, ignoring her. "In class."

Sakura rolled her eyes, getting the distinct feeling that this was his way of apologizing. It wasn't good enough.

"Yeah, well. I tutored calculus. You won't trip me up that easily," she shot him a look over her shoulder and was surprised to see the unguarded look on his face. He looked wilted, almost like he had when he had been sick. His light skin stood out in stark contrast to his black sweatshirt, the deep purple marks under his eyes were all too apparent.

"Are you going to withdrawal from my class?"

The question took her off-guard and she didn't answer right away. He clearly didn't take her silence as a good sign, as he tossed his cigarette violently to the ground and crushed it beneath his foot as though he were punishing it for all the wrongs it had done him.

"I-I don't know," Sakura lied. She couldn't withdrawal from the class. She'd still have to pay for it and she couldn't afford that…but the sinful part of her wanted to see his reaction.

She wasn't disappointed. He took several steps toward her, and she turned to face him. He got so close that she had to crane her neck backwards to properly see his face. For some reason, all good sense had left her and she couldn't seem to move.

Her long hair blew haphazardly in the autumn wind, some of it sticking in the chapstick on her lips. Her heart skipped a beat when he reached up and ran a single finger down her cheek, freeing the strands from their prison on her mouth. His finger lingered on her chin for a moment too long before he let his hand fall limply to his side.

They stared at each other for a long, empty moment. The sound of the wind in the trees was nearly hypnotic, and Sakura found herself entranced with staring into Sasuke's swirling midnight irises.

"Those clothes," Sasuke's ragged voice broke the silence. "They weren't your boyfriend's?"

Sakura shook her head then, not sure why she was giving the man an answer he didn't deserve. "I don't even have a boyfriend."

"Hn."

They had both averted their eyes. Was this…did this mean that Sasuke had been _jealous_? Sakura nearly cried. This was all just too confusing. He couldn't possibly have been jealous. That would carry far too many implications for Sakura to deal with or think about.

"S – Uchiha-sensei?" Sakura's eyes were welling with tears, but she did her best to blink them back.

Sasuke sighed, frowning at her and folding his arms. "Don't do that."

"Well what do you expect? I don't know what you want from me!" Sakura tossed her hands into the air. "Just, Sasuke, please. Don't shit on me in class like that again. I don't know what I've done to you but please _stop_."

Sasuke was quiet for a moment. Quiet for so long that she turned to go with a huff, doing her best to hold her tears inside until she got away from him.

"You're right," he murmured softly from behind her, so softly that she had to stop and strain to hear him. "You have no idea what you've done to me."

The building door slammed behind her.

* * *

AN: I hope you guys liked this chapter! I think this one has been my favorite so far :) I really like writing about Naruto and Sakura's friendship, I just think it's so cute.

I have a feeling that at least some of you will REALLY like Chapter 10 *wink wink* ;) Keep in mind, the rating will likely be changing to M soon. Thank you all for reading! I will do my best to get better at answering reviews, you all are so wonderful!


	10. TEN

Ten

* * *

Sakura didn't know how to think – or more importantly, how to feel. Her mind was in emotional torment all throughout midterms week, and she had Sasuke to thank for that. Nonetheless, she managed to do well on her tests – or at least she thought so. Grades wouldn't be up until the following week.

The only exam left was Sasuke's on Friday, which also happened to be Halloween.

Wednesday's class had been uncomfortable for Sakura. She felt as though Sasuke's eyes didn't leave her face for the entirety of the lecture. She was pretty sure she was exaggerating, but it did feel like every time she lifted her eyes to her professor, he was burning holes through her head with his gaze.

She sat pondering the meaning behind this (if there even _was _a meaning), in her Anatomy lab on Thursday. She was truly beginning to feel at a loss. She hadn't talked to Tsunade about the situation in awhile, maybe it was time for a chat…

"Sakura?" a voice startled her out of her thoughts, and Sakura realized she had been zoning out.

"Oh, yes?" Sakura cringed, looking up to find Kabuto's eyebrows raised.

"I asked if you could come up to the front and label this diagram, please," Kabuto smiled coolly at her.

"Oh! Sure, sorry," Sakura mumbled, standing to go up to the board.

"No problem," the white-haired man was still smiling amiably at her. "I was sorry to see that you were sick, Sakura," he added on more quietly once Sakura had reached the board.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Sakura lied, not really wanting to get into a conversation with Kabuto. It was kind of weird that he was even bringing up her illness, that had been awhile ago. Her skin was crawling standing this close to him. Lately, he'd been giving off strange, predatory vibes that really freaked her out. She set to work filling out the anatomy diagram, hoping he wouldn't continue speaking to her.

"Are you prepared for the midterm tomorrow? Do you need any help –"

"I think I'm ready!" Sakura cut him off, not giving him the chance to offer to tutor her. "And I think I've finished the diagram."

Kabuto's smile took on a sharper edge. He still looked polite, but there was something unmistakably sinister hidden behind the curve of his lips. "It would seem you have. Good luck tomorrow, Sakura."

Sakura could only nod at the man before hastily returning to her work station. She wasn't sure if it was her own intuition, or Sasuke and Tsunade's warnings about the man, but Kabuto was _really _starting to creep her out. She was doing her best to avoid him, but he always seemed to call on her in lab and pay extra attention to her.

Shaking off the creeping feeling Kabuto had given her, Sakura returned to her work and hoped to get out of lab without further incident.

* * *

Sakura's heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she barely heard Sasuke's voice when he said: "Begin."

Clenching her eyes shut tightly, Sakura did her best to ward off some of the worst test anxiety she had ever had. It was to the point that she was dizzy and nauseous now, and opening her eyes made her feel like the room was spinning around her. Her hands were shaking so badly she didn't even want to try to pick up her pencil.

She knew the material for the test – she knew she did. This was just an extremely important exam and Sasuke standing there staring at her made it all the worse. She had to fight to keep thoughts of him from entering her mind, she _had _to remain focused on the test. She didn't have time to get distracted.

Sakura opened her eyes and took in the first question, refusing to look up at her professor. She didn't have any time to pay attention to him.

The test was hard. Like, _really_, hard. Sakura was certain a number of students in the class would be failing. She wasn't even confident in half of her answers – and that terrified her. Even with all of her previous test anxiety, she had never felt so miserable about an exam in all of her life.

She trudged up to Sasuke's desk on shaky legs, not caring if anyone had finished before her or who was watching her. The only person she cared about was staring right at her as she approached his desk and dropped her papers lightly down in front if him.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," Sasuke said quietly, eyeing her expression warily. It was the most emotion she'd seen on his face in what felt like forever.

"You'll be seeing my ghost soon if I don't pass this test," Sakura attempted to joke quietly.

The look on his face made her immediately regret it. He _clearly _hadn't found her joke funny.

"You passed," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"We don't know that," Sakura mumbled, averting her gaze.

"I know that."

"How?" she asked the floor, unable to meet Sasuke's eyes again with the blush staining her cheeks. "What if I fail?"

"I won't let you," came Sasuke's immediate reply.

The thought that he was willing to commit academic fraud on her part was rather flattering, coming from him, but it just made Sakura angry. "I don't need your help."

"Tough," Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly.

Sakura stood there spluttering for a moment, planning to stomp out of the room when his next words stopped her in her tracks.

"You're cute when you're mad, you know. It's annoying."

Sakura's angry blush turned to an embarrassed one. Had he really just called her cute in front of the whole class? Not that anyone could hear him, but still…

And _had he really just called her cute_?

"Y-you're kidding," Sakura stuttered, not even knowing what she was really asking.

"I don't tend to kid, no," Sasuke deadpanned, never moving his eyes from her face.

Sakura's face somehow got redder, she was fairly certain the tips of her ears would be able to start a fire. "We need to talk about t-this later," Sakura pulled her backpack closer. "I have to go to work."

She fled from the room like a mouse being chased by a cat. Come to think of it – she felt exactly like a mouse, and Sasuke was the cat who was toying with her. Until he inevitably ripped her heart out, that is.

Just what kind of feelings did she have for Sasuke, anyway? Was it romantic, or was it just because he was gorgeous and she wanted him physically? Ugh, her brain hurt just thinking about it. The feelings she had for Sasuke were totally unique, she had never experienced anything like them before.

Sakura was behind the desk at work before she knew it, head still spinning from the exam and from Sasuke. She nearly had a heart attack when her phone buzzed loudly on the desk beside the keyboard some time later.

_96%_, was all the text from Sasuke read.

Wait…did that mean?

_I passed?! _Sakura texted back hastily, barely daring to believe the good news.

_Don't act so surprised, idiot. _

Sakura rolled her eyes at the backhanded compliment. _Thanks…_

_Any big Halloween plans this evening, Ms. Straight A's? _he texted back, surprising Sakura. Someone was certainly feeling talkative today…

_Party at my friend Kiba's, _Sakura replied.

…_Inuzaka? _Sasuke's text asked.

Furrowing her brow, Sakura quickly replied. _Yeah, you know him? _

_His brother. He's an old friend. _

_Ah, you have friends? Shocker. _Sakura couldn't help but chuckle as she sent the message.

_Idiot, _was his one word response.

It had her smiling nonetheless.

"Hmmm, texting a special someone, are we?" Tsunade's voice startled Sakura into dropping her phone.

"No!" Sakura made a mad grab for her phone on the floor, probably making herself look even guiltier. "Just…no one."

_Great, Sakura, she'll never suspect a thing, _her inner voice taunted her.

Tsunade merely quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah. We _really _need to work on your lying."

Sakura sighed. "Fine. It was…Sasuke. He was just texting me about my midterm grade though!"

"Already?" Tsunade questioned, taking the seat next to her. "Didn't you just take that exam this morning?"

"Um…yeah," Sakura tried for a nonchalant grin.

"And he's already graded your test?"

"I guess?"

"Just yours?"

"I don't know."

"Are grades posted?"

"No."

"I see."

Sakura's head was spinning from the back and forth interaction. She knew she couldn't hide anything from this woman. "I think…he wanted me to know because he knew I was nervous."

Tsunade chuckled lightly. "You should know…that may be the most courteous act Uchiha Sasuke has ever done."

"Oh god," Sakura tipped her head into her hands. "What is going on?"

"Now, now," Tsunade tutted. "What else happened?"

_How _did she…

"He…" Sakura coughed awkwardly. "He called me _cute_."

Tsunade's burst of laughter caused Sakura to jerk her head up and glare at the cackling woman. Typical of her to laugh at Sakura's pain…what an old bitch.

"I'm sorry," Tsunade flapped a hand while wiping tears from her eyes. "I just – I just didn't even know the word _cute _was in his vocabulary."

"Well it is," Sakura snapped, not finding the situation funny in the slightest. "And he used the vile word on _me_."

"Aw, Sakura," Tsunade did her best to reign her laughter in, (and Sakura had to wonder how many drinks she had had). "Give the poor guy a break. You've smitten him and he has no idea what to do with you."

"I haven't smitten anybody!" Sakura returned her head to it's perch in her hands. "If anything, I'm afraid I'm the one who's smitten. I don't know what's wrong with me."

The laughter stopped completely, then. Tsunade's hand came to rest comfortingly on her shoulder. "Nothing is wrong with you, Sakura. You're young, and you're having feelings you probably haven't really had before. To be honest with you, I doubt Sasuke has had them either. I guarantee you, he's just as lost as you are, if not more so."

Sakura was left speechless at that. Was Tsunade really saying that Sasuke was even more confused than she was? That he didn't know what he was doing either? "I was kind of afraid that…that this is something he does routinely. With students, I mean."

"_That_, you don't have to worry about. I've never seen Sasuke so much as glance at a woman. His poor mother is absolutely distraught that he doesn't have an elite girlfriend to bring with him to family events," Tsunade rolled her eyes as she spoke.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't realized how much that thought had worried her until it had been dispelled. At least he didn't have as girlfriend…

"Are you doing anything for Halloween tonight?" Tsunade asked, clearly changing the subject for Sakura's sake.

"Yeah," muttered Sakura, still feeling moody. "Party."

"Hmmm, well be careful," Tsunade wagged her finger as she stood up. "Sasuke may not be the ooey-gooey type, but I've never met someone so jealous in all my life. I can't imagine the wrath he might bestow on a boy lucky enough to gain your attention at a party."

"How would he even know?" Sakura asked, a little creeped out by Tsunade's words.

Tsunade simply shrugged on her way back to her office. "Uchihas have their ways of finding things out…"

Sakura merely snorted. When did the old bat get so cryptic, anyway?

* * *

"You look so cute!"

Sakura cringed at the word. "Thanks, Pig. You're sure this isn't too much?" she gestured at the makeup Ino had spent an hour applying.

"Uh, no way! And once we put your outfit on, you'll look amazing!" Ino clapped her hands together excitedly.

Sakura couldn't believe she had let Naruto talk her into this. She was going as Midori, a character from she and Naruto's favorite video game. Midori had pink hair too, so the costume was kind of perfect.

The "outfit" consisted of small, tight black shorts and a bright green shirt riddled with holes that slipped off her left shoulder, leaving the whole world with a nice view of her black bra strap. Black combat boots and three fake shuriken hanging from a chain at her side completed the costume.

Ino had swept her pink hair up into a messy up-do, with pieces here and there falling out making it look like Sakura had just been in a fight. Sakura had to give it to her – Ino had done a great job transforming her into the character.

"Oh god, Ino," Sakura cringed once she had the outfit on. "Are we sure about this? I kinda feel a little slutty."

Ino looked affronted. "It's Halloween! You're _supposed _to look slutty."

"Fine, but –"

"No buts! It's Halloween, you look crazy hot, and we're going out!"

"Can I at least wear a coat?"

"No!"

* * *

The party was pretty insane. Sakura had lost Ino – who was dressed as a purple cat – almost immediately. The house was packed with college students, and some who seemed older, possibly alumni. She had lost Naruto in the mess too, he had dropped the girls off at the door and then gone to park the car. Hinata must have found him, though, as the pale-eyed girl had at some point left Sakura's side.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Typical that she would wind up alone at the party. Her friends meant well, but they were distracted by their own relationships. Sakura could understand that.

"Hey, Sakura! Glad you could make it! You look awesome!" Kiba wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulders, coming up from behind her.

"Oh, hey Kiba," Sakura grinned at the drunken frat boy beside her. "Thanks for having me."

Sakura had always liked Kiba, he was fun and sweet. Kiba, on the other hand, had always liked Sakura a little _too_ much, so she was wary of him. He was something of a womanizer. Mostly harmless, but she could never be too careful.

"No problem! The 'rents are out of town, so you know I had to have a Halloween party!"

"Well, I'm glad you did," Sakura patted Kiba's arm good-naturedly. "You got a good turnout!"

A loud thud came from upstairs, loud enough to be heard over the music.

"Damn idiots," Kiba muttered towards the ceiling.

"Who?" Sakura asked, glancing up at the ceiling as well.

"My dumb ass older brother and his friends," Kiba shook his head. "They're too cool to come down here with us, I guess. Hey, Shino!"

Kiba took off then, dashing through the crowd to meet his friend (who was wearing a high collar and sunglasses…weird). Sakura chuckled at the boy's antics – he reminded her a bit of Naruto, sometimes.

Sipping her drink, Sakura edged toward the back door. There were _way _too many people at this party. The air in the house was stuffy and humid and the cool air drifting from beneath the door was enticing. Not to mention, Sakura _hated _crowds, and this certainly was a big one. She was bumping into someone every couple of seconds and it was getting overwhelming.

Quietly, Sakura snuck out the backdoor onto the deck, immediately hit with icy cold air of almost-November. It quickly became less refreshing and more absolutely freezing, but the break from the party was worth it.

Since it was so cold, there was no one else out on the deck. Or so she thought.

"Sakura?" Sasuke's strangled voice came from behind her.

Sakura turned just in time to see the cigarette drop from between his limp fingers. He was standing there staring at her, wearing black jeans and a dark grey hoodie.

In all the time she had known him, in all the instances she had caught him staring, she had _never _seen him look at her the way he was looking now. He looked like a man starved. His eyes dragged up and down her form unashamedly, finally coming to rest on her perfectly made-up face.

"S-Sasuke? What are you doing here?" Sakura choked out, forgetting about the cold momentarily.

"Hitoshi," was all Sasuke said, in that same, strangled tone.

"Oh, Kiba's brother? Wait, why didn't you tell me you'd be here, I told you before that –"

Sasuke advanced on her so quickly, Sakura had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from releasing a startled gasp. He was now standing less than a foot away from her, towering over her in a way that made her have to crane her neck backwards to see him properly.

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. "W-what are you doing?" she shivered out. "What is this Sasuke?" The drinks had loosened her tongue. "I just don't understand, why are you – "

Sakura was cut off again. This time, by Sasuke's lips crushing against her own.

Sakura was shocked into complete stillness. This didn't seem to dissuade Sasuke, however, as his hands clamped down on her hips as though to anchor her to him. His mouth pressed against hers fully, and it was only a matter of seconds before Sakura was kissing him back. She threw her arms around his neck and lifted to her tiptoes in order to make the kiss more comfortable, and these acts only seemed to encourage him. His hands tightened against her hips and he somehow pulled her closer, his body heat helping to warm her.

She shivered, and she wasn't sure if it was due to the temperature, or the kiss.

It was clear to her that they were both acting on two months of tension in that one, bruising kiss. Feeling brave for some reason or another, Sakura ran her tongue lightly along the edge of Sasuke's lower lip, earning a groan from the man in response.

That groan was enough to bring Sakura to her senses. Pushing against his chest, she sent herself hurtling backwards, nearly landing on her ass.

"W-wait," she stuttered. "Wait, wait, wait…_wait_. What? We're _kissing _now? Since when are we kissing? What the hell is going on?"

"Stop talking," Sasuke muttered, closing the space between them and grabbing her shoulders, pulling her back to him.

The second kiss was calmer, deeper. Sakura didn't fight it. The cold, however, was starting to become a problem. She was _freezing_, and even Sasuke's intense body heat wasn't enough to keep her warm.

Ever intuitive, Sasuke seemed to notice and backed off from her, shrugging out of his hoodie as he did so. He draped it around Sakura's shoulders in a surprising display of gentleness. It was the same hoodie from before…

They were both breathing heavily when they finally made eye-contact.

"Who's taking you home?"

Sakura's eyes widened at the question. Was he asking her…

Seeing the look on her face, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Tch. Who's _driving _you home?"

"Oh," Sakura stuttered awkwardly. "Um, Naruto."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed into thin slits at the mention of a boy's name.

"What?" Sakura questioned defensively. "He's a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah, he's the one who leant me those clothes…" Sakura trailed off, seeing she was making the situation worse. Sasuke's eye had started twitching.

"Has this _Naruto _been drinking?" Sasuke questioned, beginning to sound a bit like Sakura's mother.

"Um, probably?"

"I'll drive you back."

"What? Why?" Sakura furrowed her brow, still short of breath from their kiss only moments before. Her only satisfaction came from noticing the slight tremble in Sasuke's hands. Apparently, the kiss had affected him as well.

"Because," was all Sasuke spat.

"Sakura-san!"

Sasuke took several steps back from her, angling himself behind a fake, decorative fern just beside the door just as Lee came flying out onto the deck.

"Oh god, Lee! Did they let you drink again?" Sakura took a few steps back from the stumbling boy.

"Sakura-sannnn! You look _so _beeee—youtiful! I had to come proclaim my affections to you!" Lee slurred, tipping dangerously on his feet.

Sakura blushed. She could practically _feel _the waves of anger rolling from Sasuke. She needed to fix this situation.

Luckily for her, Lee took care of that, as he collapsed limply onto her shoulder. Sakura caught him with her weird strength and held him there against her – until Sasuke grabbed him by the collar that is. He hoisted the smaller man up and quickly dropped him, letting him slump onto the deck.

"Sasuke!" Sakura squealed, immediately kneeling to check on Lee. "He's_ harmless _you asshole!"

"Hn," was all Sasuke said as he glared down at them.

"If you're not going to be helpful, just go back inside," Sakura growled at him.

"And leave you with this guy?" Sasuke snorted. "Please."

Flurries of snow had started to rain down, and goosebumps erupted on Sakura's exposed legs.

Deciding to play a little dirty, just to see if it would work, Sakura busted out her best puppy eyes and pouted up at Sasuke. "Please help me, Sasuke? It's cold."

The look on Sasuke's face was absolutely seething. "Fine." He reached down and lifted the boy easily. "I'll go put him on the couch. You go around the house and wait for me out front."

"Who said I'm ready to go?" Sakura teased.

Sasuke shot a skeptical glance at her. "You chose to stand outside alone in the freezing cold rather than be inside. I'd say you're ready to go."

Sakura simply stuck her tongue out at him before nodding and heading around the house. She really _was _ready to go, so she wouldn't push it too far.

The reality that Sasuke had kissed her was really starting to sink in, and she was freaking out. In a way, she was ecstatic. She felt like her feelings had been validated, and at least Sasuke seemed to be attracted to her. But she was also terrified. She had just made out with her professor, dressed as Midori, at a Halloween party. And he was about to drive her home…

She sent a quick text to Ino, explaining that she got a ride back to the dorm and would be leaving.

"Ready?"

Sasuke was there far sooner than she had been expecting. "Um, sure. If you are."

"Aa," Sasuke mumbled, motioning for her to follow him.

They walked in silence down the block, Sakura trailing a few steps behind Sasuke at all times. She felt childish in his sweatshirt. It extended past her hands and past the hem of her shorts as well.

The look on Sasuke's face when he turned to look at her told her he saw her as anything but childish. There was a certain possessiveness to his gaze as he took in the sight of her being swallowed by his sweater, and it caused Sakura to shiver. Maybe this _was _all physical, maybe if they just…

Sakura's lewd thought was interrupted by the sound of Sasuke opening his car's passenger door, motioning for her to get in. She slid into the seat obediently, not looking up at him as he slammed the door shut.

A moment later, he was sitting next to her in the driver's seat, immediately starting the car and turning on the heat. He had to be cold too, since he was now just in a t-shirt. The sight of his muscled arms put a lump in Sakura's throat. She was suddenly swamped by images of a shirtless Sasuke and for the love of god that was the last thing she needed.

Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them to keep herself warm – her legs were almost numb.

"Seatbelt."

"What?" had she heard him right?

"Stop sitting like that and put on your seatbelt," Sasuke snapped at her.

"But you're not even wearing one!" Sakura pouted, pulling the belt down across her lap regardless.

"Tough. You have to," Sasuke muttered.

Was he…being _protective_? Or was he being an asshole? Sakura was beginning to think that this was going to be a common theme with Sasuke…

The rest of the drive was spent in tense, charged silence. Sakura wasn't sure if she wanted to jump him or out the window. The air was thick and heavy between them, and Sakura was finding it harder and harder to breathe. It made her feel better to see that Sasuke seemed to be struggling to. His jaw was clenched and his hands gripped the steering wheel with unnecessary force.

He parked his car in the faculty lot. A quick scan of campus told Sakura almost everyone was in bed at that hour or gone at parties, so she felt relatively safe walking around with Sasuke.

He walked her back to her dorm, for which she thanked him. She tried to give him back his hoodie, and he declined it.

The pair stood staring at each other blankly for almost a full minute before Sakura found it within herself to turn. She was to the door of her building before she got the courage to turn back around.

"Hey, Sasuke?" she started.

She blinked at the empty sidewalk below.

He was already gone.

* * *

AN: Whoop, there it is! :D A kiss, finally. Also, I know Kiba doesn't have a brother, but I made one up for the sake of this story, haha.

A lot of you have asked for Sasuke's POV. I want to keep Sasuke's thoughts and feelings a mystery for the most part, but Chapter 11 DOES include a little snippet told from Sasuke's POV. Chapter 11 is also pretty spicy, if you know what I mean ;) be prepared, the rating will be changing to M soon.

I'm going to an anime convention this weekend, so Chapter 11 will probably be up…Monday?

HUGE thank you to TheBlackBriarSparrow for beta reading my chapters for me and giving me awesome ideas and advice. She's amazing so check out her fic!


	11. ELEVEN

CONTENT WARNING!: SMUT! BE ADVISED THE RATING HAS CHANGED TO M. If you feel the need to skip this chapter, feel free :) I'll try to put a disclaimer up on any chapters with M rated sexual content.

* * *

Eleven

* * *

Sakura lay awake, staring blankly at the ceiling. She'd been like that for hours.

She couldn't shake the feeling that maybe, _maybe_, she and Sasuke just needed to get something physical out of their systems. It felt like more than that but…maybe her hormones were just getting the better of her and having sex with Sasuke would solve all her problems.

Fat chance of that happening, but Sakura was tired and overwhelmed by the tension between them. She figured it was time she do something about it.

Climbing out of bed slowly, Sakura crept past a sleeping Ino, grabbing Sasuke's hoodie on the way out the door. Once in the hallway, Sakura glanced down at her outfit and cringed. She was wearing purple shorts with blue polka dots, and a blue t-shirt that matched the dots. She hadn't thought to grab shoes before leaving the room, and she nearly smacked herself in the head for being so absent-minded yet again. She imagined she must look very enticing, what with her no-makeup bedhead look.

_Are you awake? _Sakura texted him, flinching as she sent the message.

She was surprised when he texted her back immediately. It was almost two in the morning. _Yes_, he responded. _What's up? _

Sakura swallowed before sending the next text, debating on exactly what to say. _Can I come over? _she asked, choosing to just be blunt.

Her heart stopped when she didn't receive a reply. As the minutes ticked by, Sakura considered she had likely made a huge mistake. What had she been thinking, texting him like that?

_Yeah, come on. I'll meet you outside. _He texted back.

Thanking all the gods that he had responded, and maybe cursing them a little bit too, Sakura went running down the hall towards the stairs. She tripped down the last two in her nervous eagerness and scraped her elbow on the brick wall, drawing a little bit of blood. "Damn it," she muttered, dabbing lightly at her seeping elbow.

She ran out the door to her building, keeping in the shadows on the way to Sasuke's. No one was out, but she was still wary of anyone seeing her. No one needed to know about this little ill-advised trip to her professor's at two in the morning.

She beat him to their meeting spot outside, and danced back and forth from foot to foot. The ground was achingly cold on her bare feet. Damn no-shoes nonsense.

Sakura didn't have to wait long, however, as the door soon opened to reveal a very bedraggled looking Sasuke. His hair looked as though a family of rats had taken up residence there and his t-shirt was on backwards. Sakura was struck by how _adorable _he looked in that moment and she swallowed heavily. She reminded herself that this was about lust and nothing more.

This time, Sasuke led her to his apartment by hand, mirroring her own behavior last time she had been there. He didn't release her palm from his grasp until he had shut his apartment door behind him. He stood with his back to her, shoulders obviously tense. She could see the lines of his drawn up muscles through the thin fabric of his backwards t-shirt.

"Um," Sakura began, desperately trying to ease the tension. "Your shirt is on backwards."

Sasuke's head tipped down as he surveyed his clothing. "Hn, so it is. Tea?"

"Sure," Sakura quirked an eyebrow. She hadn't been expecting so much politeness. Maybe he suspected her motives and was trying to let her down easy…

She took a seat on his couch while he made the tea. At one point while he was in the kitchen, he paused his tea-making to flip his shirt right side out, offering Sakura a tantalizing view of the hard muscles of his back. Suddenly, her plan seemed like an _excellent _idea.

"How much sugar?" he asked from the kitchen, still not looking at her.

"Um, a lot?" Sakura asked sheepishly.

Sasuke snorted at that. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey, don't judge," Sakura sniffed, accepting the tea mug he was offering her. "Bitter is gross."

"Tch," Sasuke sat down next to her on the couch. "Whatever."

They sat there on the sofa for some time, neither one of them speaking. Sakura wondered if Sasuke knew why she had come to his apartment. She wondered what he was going to say. Maybe he would reject her…

"Sasuke," she choked out, before she could chicken out. "Um…"

He finally turned to look at her then, eyes dark and dusky. She was taken aback by his beauty. Even in pajamas with his hair in a mess, the man was still devastatingly gorgeous.

She licked her lips and saw his eyes fall to them briefly. "I was just thinking that…maybe if we, well if we…get this tension out from between us, we can get over this and things can be normal."

"Get the tension out?" Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at her, though he clearly caught on to her meaning. "Are you sure – "

"Yes," Sakura replied, not letting him finish. She would do anything at this point to free herself from these desperate feelings of longing. To get herself back to normal…

Sasuke was just staring at her, very clearly trying to read her. "Sakura, I don't think – "

She leaned forward and kissed him then. She had no idea where all this bravery was coming from, but it just felt _right_. It was just a quick, chaste kiss, but a kiss all the same, and it left Sakura's heart thudding and her cheeks red.

"I just thought we might as well give it a try because this…_this_, whatever, has started to become…disruptive for me," Sakura struggled through her words. "B-but if you don't want…I mean I know I don't look – "

"That's not it," Sasuke bit out. "I'm just not sure it's a good idea."

Sakura felt the blood rushing in her ears. Sasuke was just scowling at the wall like it had done him a great wrong. She had _so _not thought this through. She hadn't really put much thought into his actual answer, and now that he had said no, she wasn't really sure what to do.

Standing abruptly and setting her teacup on the coffee table, Sakura bowed lightly and nearly tripped in her hurry to leave. "Forgive me," she muttered, hiding her blush behind her hair. "I don't know what I'm doing."

When he didn't respond, Sakura turned in absolute dejection and mortification for the door, nearly tripping over her own feet in her hurry to get out the door and preferably off a cliff. She stopped only when Sasuke's hand came slamming down on her wrist as she reached for the doorknob. She hadn't even heard him get up.

"Sakura," he breathed from behind her, and the sound sent chills up Sakura's spine.

When he didn't continue, Sakura chanced a timid glance over her shoulder at the man, peaking out from behind her hair. Sasuke was watching her warily. He reached out and tucked the pink strands behind her ear, fingers lingering on the skin of her neck.

They locked eyes for a moment. Two moments.

And then he murmured, "Fuck it."

He pulled her to him, threading his fingers into her hair as he brought his lips to her own once again. He kissed her with reckless abandon, causing Sakura to tremble in his hold as he ran his tongue along the outside of her lips. She parted them for him, and he greedily took full access of her mouth, groaning uncharacteristically when she sighed into his mouth.

A startled squeak escaped her mouth when his hands roamed from her hair, down to her hips, down over her butt and settled to grip the back of her thighs – which he used to lift her and carry her to the couch. He sat down, settling Sakura on his lap with her legs straddling him. She tried not to be overwhelmed by their suddenly intimate position.

His hands roamed over her sides and hips relentlessly, and Sakura felt her ears turning bright red. She couldn't believe how enraptured he already seemed – she hadn't been expecting this from Sasuke. He was usually so reserved and cold…this much of a reaction from him was surprising to say the least.

She could already feel the heat of his desire pressing against her inner thigh. She rubbed against him experimentally, earning a masculine groan and causing him to tighten his grip on her hips. She was certain she would have bruises tomorrow, but she didn't mind.

His hands moved underneath her shirt then, his fingers lightly running over her sensitive, bare skin. He teased the hem upwards and upwards until it was just below the base of her breasts.

Sasuke pulled back, eyeing her cautiously. A little sound of protest escaped Sakura's mouth as his lips left her. He was looking at her with a question in his eyes, seemingly asking permission before he discarded her shirt as he so obviously wanted to. In answer, Sakura lifted her shirt over her own head, and Sasuke immediately leaned backwards, deeper into the couch. His eyes raked over her body unapologetically, and Sakura struggled with the urge to cover herself. She had always thought that her breasts were a bit on the small side… although Sasuke didn't seem to mind.

"You have no idea…how long," Sasuke began with a hoarse voice. "…how many times…"

Sakura blushed deeply then, sure that her face must be bright crimson. She started to bring an arm up to cover herself when Sasuke caught ahold of it, gently bringing it back to her side.

"Please, don't."

The _please _was what did it. Sakura dropped her arm, and allowed him to draw her to him. He began kissing and nipping her neck and collarbone, and Sakura shivered as a rush of goosebumps broke out along her arms.

When his mouth dipped to one of her breasts and his tongue worked at the sensitive bud, she couldn't help but let out a pleasant, feminine moan. That only seemed to spur him on, and one of his hands moved from her hip to rest on her other breast. Angry that he was doing all the work, Sakura experimentally rocked against him again, this time a little harder. This promoted a hiss from his mouth and a strained utterance of her name.

He stood then, picking her up with him again. He returned his lips to her own as he began carrying her down the hall, presumably to his room. She found that she had been correct when he deposited her unceremoniously upon his bed. He quickly stripped his shirt off and climbed to rest on top of her.

Their lips reconnected in a mess of teeth and tongue, and Sakura shuddered beneath the feel of his bare chest in contact with her own. It felt perfect to be pressed against him like that – she felt like she had been made to fit beneath him.

"I can't sleep, you know," he murmured between heated kisses. "I dream about this every time I try."

"R-really?" Sakura stuttered, unsure if she had heard him right. Apparently, all you had to do to get Uchiha Sasuke to open up was take your shirt off…

"Every fucking night," Sasuke growled into the space between her neck and her shoulder, his warm breath causing her to shudder.

"I-I didn't know," Sakura wiggled beneath him, the heat in her belly growing steadily.

"That's because you're an idiot," Sasuke muttered into her ear before nipping it gently. "A stupid, beautiful idiot."

"Yeah?" Sakura panted. "Well I've been drooling over you for weeks, and which one of us made a move?"

"Whatever," he groaned against her skin, clearly done arguing. He pressed his knee between her thighs, spreading her legs wide enough for him to settle between them. He began running his fingertips along the waistband of her shorts, fingers dipping teasingly below the hem.

Two could play at that game, however, and Sakura began running her fingers along the hem of his pants in a similar fashion. He shuddered beneath her fingertips, and a triumphant smile graced her lips. She was proud to be able to elicit that kind of reaction from him.

Clearly not one to be outdone, Sasuke grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head using one of his hands, using the other hand to better angle her face to his. She made a muffled sound of protest that only seemed to encourage his actions, as he made a strained sound of his own against her mouth.

The weight of the situation really hit Sakura then – they were really doing this. She was now pressed firmly between Sasuke and his bed, _shirtless_, being kissed like she never had been in her entire life. She'd had sex twice – once with Naruto and once with a very short-term love interest in her senior year of high school. It had been almost a year, though, and she was suddenly nervous.

Seemingly, Sasuke sensed this, and he backed off from her lips just a bit, making blistering eye-contact with her. He didn't say anything, but Sakura knew he was giving her the opportunity to tell him to stop. He was giving her a way out, in his own stoic way.

Gods be damned, Uchiha Sasuke was something of a gentleman after all.

Sakura answered his unspoken question by kissing him tenderly on the mouth, gently pulling her arms free from his grip and wrapping them around his neck. They kissed quietly, almost sweetly for a few minutes before their lip-lock intensified once more. Sakura knew it was almost time to actually _do _it, and she couldn't keep the weak tremble from her hands as she assisted Sasuke in pushing her pajama shorts down past the gentle swell of her hips.

Sakura had never been completely confident in her body. Looks had always been important to her – even if she pretended that they weren't. She always felt too skinny and stick-like next to Ino. Puberty had helped quite a bit, giving her at least _some _boobs and hips. She tried not to contemplate these things as she watched Sasuke stand at the foot of the bed as his eyes drop momentarily to the floor – there was a definite blush staining his cheeks.

Her underwear covered almost as much skin as her shorts had, they were boy-shorts style, but apparently something about them had affected Sasuke in some way. Still not looking directly at her, he discarded his own pajama pants, leaving himself only in his dark blue boxers. Sakura desperately hoped that he wasn't disappointed with what he was seeing, because she certainly wasn't…

That's when he looked at her again.

Never before had Sakura seen such an intense look. Sasuke had locked his eyes on her face as he resumed his earlier position, one hand gripping her hip and the other cradling her neck, forcing her to maintain eye-contact with him.

"Alright?" he breathed out in a strained whisper, still clearly concerned about her desire to go on.

Unable to find her voice, Sakura merely nodded in response as he hooked his thumbs in the sides of her underwear, slowly pulling them down her smooth legs and discarding the unnecessary material on the floor. Next came his boxers and it was Sakura's turn to blush bright red. Thank god there was only a small lamp on, otherwise she would have likely died from embarrassment.

It happened quickly. She was so nervous and excited that all the kissing had been all the foreplay she could handle. She could barely grasp the concept of what was happening – all rational thought flew from her mind after the first roll of Sasuke's hips against her own.

There was no going back now. Not that she wanted to.

She threaded her fingers into his hair, holding on for dear life and trying to keep any embarrassing noises to a minimum – which was proving difficult. It didn't even seem like he was really trying, but this was without a doubt the most pleasing sexual experience she had ever had. His timing was perfect, and his hands and mouth were seemingly always where she wanted them to be.

She felt a little guilty, like maybe she should be doing something for him, but when she went to say something, all that came out was a strangled, "S-sas-u-ke."

_That _certainly sparked a reaction, as Sakura noted a rush of goosebumps breaking out along his arms as he tucked his face into the nook of her neck and groaned something unintelligible, causing her to arch her back into him.

He practically growled then. "You're…so…"

When he didn't go on, Sakura nearly cursed. She desperately hoped the end of that sentence was complimentary.

"_Perfect._"

Oh. She hadn't been expecting _that. _

And maybe he didn't mean it. Maybe he'd said it to every girl that he'd ever had sex with. But in that moment, the word was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. A compliment had never meant so much to her before.

Sasuke wasn't selfish. He made sure her pleasure was complete before fully seeking his own. As someone who had only ever had sex in high school, Sakura wasn't used to such selfless treatment. To say she was appreciative was an understatement.

Afterwards, he collapsed on top of her into her arms, his hair sticking to the thin sheen of sweat on her neck. He surprised her entirely by pressing a firm kiss to her collarbone. She swore she could've fallen asleep right there pinned beneath him.

He rolled off of her a few minutes later, though, seemingly nearly asleep as his arm came to rest across her middle. She pulled the sheet up to her neck then, embarrassment outweighing her exhaustion. Maybe closing her eyes for a few minutes wouldn't hurt…

* * *

Sakura woke with a start. She sat up quickly, grasping the sheet to her chest once she realized that she was still naked. After she got her bearings and recovered from the shock of waking up in Sasuke's bed, she looked to her right to find that Sasuke was gone. There was a light coming from underneath a door that Sakura assumed was a bathroom.

Panicking, Sakura quickly jumped from the bed and threw her clothes on, looking around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything before fleeing from his bedroom. She had definitely _way _overstayed her welcome. He probably couldn't wait for her to leave so he could get some sleep. After all, this had just been an experiment to attempt to relieve some tension from between them…

So why didn't she feel any better?

"Tch."

Sakura spun to find Sasuke standing in the hallway, dressed in his boxers and a t-shirt, watching her as she prepared to head out the door. "Oh! Um…" she began, no clue what to say. Not knowing his thoughts and feelings was a huge disadvantage.

"You're going?" he asked simply, his voice not betraying a hint of emotion.

"Ah, well, I…" Sakura stammered senselessly. What exactly was he saying?

He narrowed his eyes at her fractionally, his lips turning downward almost imperceptibly. He said nothing and shrugged, finally averting his intense gaze from her to stare past her at the wall.

_Awkward. _

She fled the apartment without another word to him. A glance at her cellphone told her it was almost five in the morning. With any luck, she could sneak back into the dorm without Ino ever noticing that she was gone.

If she could make it back, that was. Her head was spinning and her stomach was in knots. What had been a desperate attempt to alleviate her inappropriate desire for her sensei had only served to amplify it, and now she felt more miserable than ever. She would give anything to be wrapped in his arms again – to hear him call her _perfect _the way he had just hours ago.

She did her best to swallow the sickly feeling of distress as she wrapped her arms tightly around her middle and began the cold walk back to her dorm room.

* * *

Sasuke broke a lamp that night. And a mug. And his alarm clock.

What the _hell _was wrong with him?

First of all, he'd let a student get so deeply entangled into his brain that he'd actually _slept _with her with barely a second thought, and then he'd let her walk right out the door without even _attempting_ to drag her back to bed. He was an idiot.

He glared angrily at the ridiculous mess he had made, debating on whether or not he felt like cleaning it up before going back to bed – decidedly alone. Why had she left? Was that truly all she had wanted? He had been unable to read her erratic behavior as she had been leaving his apartment. He had wanted to think that she hadn't really wanted to leave…

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and sighed. Well. He had officially committed the great taboo. Sex with a student. Really, had he no self-control? Since when was Uchiha Sasuke so easily melted by a blush and a timid glance over the shoulder? It was like Sakura had grabbed him by the ear and was now leading him around like a naughty child. Not that he particularly minded.

And now she was gone. She'd gone running for the door the moment she had woken up. Did she regret what they had done? If he regretted anything about it, it was only that it would likely never happen again, based on Sakura's reaction, anyway. Scowling menacingly at his ruined alarm clock, Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed and leaned back on his hands. The bed was still warm from where Sakura had been sleeping, he noted.

Hating himself for his own stupidity and swearing to forget the lapse in judgement in the morning, Sasuke laid down on the pillow previously vacated by Sakura and breathed in the fading scent of her strawberry hair.

* * *

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Sakura mumbled under her breath as she walked hurriedly through the cold to her dorm. She wanted nothing more than to turn around and run back to the warmth of Sasuke's bed.

But she knew she couldn't do that.

All she could picture was Sasuke's face as she had been leaving. He hadn't tried to stop her, but the hopeful, idealistic side of Sakura wanted to believe that he had wanted her to stay and just hadn't known how to say it.

That, or he really _had _wanted her to leave and that's why he hadn't stopped her.

For the sake of her sanity and her heart, Sakura forced herself to believe in the latter option. They had done what she suggested they do: they got the tension out. Only now, Sakura was finding that she wanted him more than ever. She was horrified to discover that she hadn't wanted the night to end. She had wanted to lay there, letting him wrap his arm around her possessively as they slept. She had wanted to wake up in his bed and smile at him in the morning when his hair was messy and his smile was tired. She knew that she was deluding herself when she actually pictured Sasuke smiling at her. It was a pipe-dream.

Sakura managed to sneak back into her room without waking Ino. She crawled back into her lofted bed, immediately drawing her knees to her chest like a child. Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking and _damn _did she feel like an idiot. She was in way over her head now, that was for sure.

_Perfect. _

The probably meaningless word was still bouncing around her head, taunting her. He couldn't have meant it. He was just saying it in the heat of the moment and probably had no idea how it had affected her. He'd probably sneer at her if he knew how much she was obsessing over one barely-there, half-breathed compliment.

Class was going to be a nightmare.

The rest of her _life _was going to be a nightmare.

All because of one little thoughtless indiscretion.

She had just secured her own misery. Images from hours before continued to flash across her mind, taunting her. Maybe if things were different, they actually could have been together. Maybe if he wasn't her professor, if he wasn't older, if he _liked _her… But he was, he was, and he didn't.

And Sakura knew she had to accept that.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the long wait! I'm super busy right now, so updates will probably be slower :/ I threw in a little tiny bit of Sasuke's POV! Several people had asked for it, so I thought I would oblige. I kept it short, because I really like to keep Sasuke's thoughts/feelings a bit of a mystery… ;) Hope you liked this chapter! (For those of you who might be worried that this is "too fast", try not to panic! I know they had sex, but there's still a lot of angst/relationship building to come).


	12. TWELVE

Twelve

* * *

The week of classes following _the event_,as Sakura had taken to referring to it as, had been absolutely unbearable. Sasuke had showed up twenty minutes late on Monday, Sakura had actually _skipped _class on Wednesday, and on Friday, they hadn't made eye-contact once. Honestly, that made Friday the worst day of the three. Sakura had never gone through an entire class without catching Sasuke's eyes on her at least a few times. She'd definitely messed things up.

Work was a drag. Everything was a drag. All she could think about was Sasuke and sex with Sasuke and _why the hell was she so stupid?_ She swore to herself that she wouldn't get distracted by boys at school, and she hadn't – she had gotten distracted by a man who was also her professor. A man who had completely taken over her faculties to think like an adult person and who had rendered her heart and brain into useless piles of goop.

"Earth to Sakura?" Tsunade punctuated her words with a sharp flick to Sakura's forehead. "Are you in there?"

"Ouch," Sakura whined, rubbing her forehead and scowling up at the blonde woman from her seat behind the front desk. "Yes, I'm here. No need to get violent."

Tsunade merely shrugged and sat down in the chair next to Sakura's. "Alright, pipsqueak. You've been spacey all week. What gives? Bad midterm grade? Cold weather got you down?" Tsunade paused thoughtfully, quirking an eyebrow heavenward. "Uchiha?"

Sakura's blush likely gave her away, if Tsunade's triumphant "Ha!" said anything.

"What'd the little bastard do?" the doctor leaned towards Sakura, clearly not going to give up without having heard the story.

Sakura's blush deepened and she looked away. She didn't think she'd actually be able to get the words out, not even to Tsunade, even though the woman had become like a second mother to Sakura. As a matter of fact, it was even easier to talk to Tsunade than it was to her own mom, sometimes. As stubborn and tough as the woman could be, Sakura knew that the doctor truly cared about her and was interested in her life. She just had a funny way of showing it sometimes.

"Hang on," Tsunade frowned. "What's going on here?"

"Well…" Sakura began, childishly hiding her face from Tsunade behind the curtain of her hair. "It was my fault, really…"

"Sakura," Tsunade drew her name out. "_What _was your fault?"

"Um, well, I guess I should start by saying that…he um, well you see, ah, we ended up at the same Halloween party," Sakura rushed out, stammering over her words. "And I guess, he just, um…he kissed me."

Tsunade's mouth hung open for a moment…before she whooped ridiculously and pumped her fist in the air. "I've _still _got it! Didn't I bet you that he'd kiss you before finals week?"

Sakura simply nodded, deciding whether or not she wanted to go on with the rest of the story. Would the kiss be enough to sate Tsuande's curiosity?

"Go on."

Apparently not.

Tsunade cleared her throat, schooling her expression into one of suspicion. "You said you should start by saying, meaning the kiss isn't the end of the story." Her eyes narrowed. "What else happened?"

Sakura felt the heat of her blush drain from her cheeks. She felt dizzy all of a sudden, and kind of nauseous. What the hell was wrong with her? She brought her palm up to her forehead in an attempt to steady herself.

"Woah," Tsunade laid a hand on her shoulder, fixing her with a steady glare. "Sakura. What the hell is going on here?"

"Tsunade…I…" Sakura was horrified to feel tears beginning to leak from the corners of her eyes. "I fucked everything up." A choked sob followed her words.

"Oh, hush," Tsunade crooned, totally out of character for her. She began wiping the tears off of Sakura's face haphazardly. "I'm sure you didn't fuck anything up. How could you possibly?"

"I…" Sakura whispered, pressing the heels of her palms forcefully into her eyes. "We…we _had sex_. And before you say anything, it was my idea and my fault."

The silence was thick and heavy.

Tsunade didn't say anything for probably a full minute. The only sound came from the ticking of the clock on the clinic wall. Sakura chanced a glance up at the doctor, and found the woman staring blankly at her, jaw hanging open slightly and shock in her eyes.

Sakura reached out to poke the woman in the arm. "You alive in there?" she asked miserably.

"Sakura," Tsunade began slowly, a dangerous edge to her voice. "Why do you think you messed things up? What happened afterwards to make you think that?"

"W-well," Sakura sniffled lamely. "I pretty much ran away afterwards. He didn't try to stop me or anything. And then he was late to class and then I skipped class and then today we both pretended that the other one didn't exist. I'm pretty sure that constitutes as fucking things up."  
Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "You are telling me, that Uchiha Sasuke had sex with you, and is now avoiding you? Like a child?"

Sakura frowned. "Well, in his defense, I'm kind of avoiding him too…"

"You _are _a child!" Tsunade fumed, standing from her seat and slamming her fists down on the desk.

"I'm not a child!" Sakura stood too, and crossed her arms over her chest. "If I was, this situation would be a very different one."

Tsunade simply scoffed. "You know what I mean! That little brat should know better. He _does _know better."

"Maybe you're right," Sakura twisted her hands anxiously in her lap. "What should I do?"

"You two need to talk about this, obviously," Tsunade sighed into the empty clinic waiting room. "If he isn't going to be the grown-up and reach out to you, then I guess you should reach out to him."

"Alright," Sakura frowned, "You're probably right. I guess I'll think about it."

"_Kickthatlittlebastardass," _Tsunade mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Sakura quirked an eyebrow at her mentor.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, dearest little Sakura.

* * *

"Sakura-chan?!" Naruto's voice came muffled through her dorm room door, accompanied by loud knocking. "Open up!"

_Naruto. _

Sakura could only hope that Naruto would be classically dense enough to overlook the dirty tear tracks staining her cheeks, her slumped shoulders, and her unkempt and lackluster appearance.

Pulling the door open to receive her blonde-haired ray of sunshine, Sakura did her best to paste a smile on her face. She had already explained things to Tsunade today, she didn't think she could bear to explain the situation to Naruto. He'd be likely to punch Sasuke in the face.

"What's up, Naruto?" Sakura chirped, trying not to react to the fact that Naruto was at her door in a pair of scuba diving flippers and some dripping swimming trunks. "Um, nice outfit?"

"Oh, haha, yeah!" Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head. "I took and extracurricular scuba diving class this semester and forgot to change before heading back from the pool."

Sakura shook her head blankly at the boy. "You're dripping everywhere, dumbie! Go change your clothes! And how did you not freeze to death?"

"Damn, prison warden, I will!" Naruto pouted dramatically at her, ignoring her question about the cold. "I just wanted to stop by and ask you to come with me to the football game tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night? What about Hinata? What's she doing?" Sakura frowned at him.

"Ah, she's visiting her family back at the estate, so I'll be alone all weekend. She suggested I invite you to go with me!" Naruto beamed. "_Please_, Sakura-chan! Don't let me go all alone."

"Fine, you big baby," Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'll go with you. Now, will you go change your clothes before you put mold into the carpet?"

"Anything for you, Sakura-chan," Naruto winked at her cheekily.

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura nodded pushing her door shut. "I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto."

"Wait!" Naruto's hand shot out to stop the door from closing, then he shoved his head through the small space in the doorway. "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You know what."

"I have no idea what you're saying, Naruto," Sakura ruffled his hair while simultaneously pushing his head back out the door. "Now go change before you get pneumonia and die."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get it out of you later, you liar!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder as he bounded to his room. "See you tomorrow!"

Sakura's smile followed her down to the floor as she slid down the door. She tilted her head back and let it thunk hollowly against the wood. She was lucky to have Naruto, if nothing else. No matter how many times she fell down, she knew that he'd always somehow manage to be there to pick her up.

* * *

_Coffee? _the text read.

Sakura never thought that one six letter word would be enough to stop her heart, but it was, and it did, and she nearly choked on the water she had been drinking when she read it.

"Um, Sakura?" Ino asked from the other side of the cafeteria table. "Having some trouble over there?"

"No," Sakura spluttered, coughing and setting her phone aside to try and be less glaringly obvious. "Just went down the wrong pipe."

Ino's eyes narrowed momentarily before she let out an irritated huff and went back to scrolling her phone. Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Sakura did her best to be nonchalant and picked her phone back up to re-read the message.

_Coffee. _

It was still there. She hadn't imagined it, or so it would seem. Sasuke was actually asking her to coffee? Every excuse for why it might not be real had flown through her mind, including the idea that maybe he had sent the message to the wrong person.

Before she had summoned the courage to type a reply, he sent another message. _Nightlights, 9 pm, I'll be sitting in the darker outdoor area._

Sakura's thumb agonized over her phone's keyboard before finally deciding to just reply: _Okay, see you at 9. _

It was only five o'clock…the fact was nearly enough to make Sakura cry. What the hell was she going to do for four hours?

"Hey, Ino," Sakura began slowly, realizing she was probably going to regret this decision. "So, I have a kind of coffee date with this guy tonight. Wanna go shopping and give me a makeover?"

The chopsticks fell from Ino's fingers and her phone fell from her other hand. "I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. I thought you just said you have a date tonight."

"Mmmm," Sakura just nodded, continuing to eat her noodles as thought she had not just blown Ino's mind.

"With who?!" Ino spluttered, a vein on her temple sticking out like an angry purple snake. "Damnit, Forehead, what the hell? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"It literally just happened," Sakura nodded towards her phone. "Do you want to help me out or not?"

"Duh!" Ino cried with pure exasperation. "Wait a minute…is this date with _him_? The professor?"

Sakura merely shrugged, hoping the drama of it all wouldn't cause Ino to spontaneously combust. "It might be."

"Oh my god," there were tears sparkling in Ino's eyes. "How much time do I have?"

"Less than four hours," Sakura cringed, awaiting the storm her words would undoubtedly unleash.

"Oh my god! Drop those noodles, Haruno, we are going shopping right now! We don't have time for carbs!"

* * *

Using Ino as a distraction was both good and bad. On one hand, the distraction was successful. On the other hand, Sakura was forced to spend nearly four hours at the merciless, albeit fashionable hands of Ino.

She had to admit, though, that at the end of Ino's pampering, she looked halfway decent. Her makeup was light, but pretty, with subtle blush and some pink, shiny lip gloss. Ino had done her hair so that loose curls fell around her shoulder and down her back. Sakura had convinced Ino to dress her casually, satisfied when the blonde had chosen a cute, gray v-neck sweater. They paired it with a pair of comfy jeans with holes in the knees and a pair of black Converse. It was the least colorful outfit she could possibly wear…and it reminded her of Sasuke.

The walk to Nighlights was freezing. The November air bit through both her coat and her sweater, and Sakura nearly melted when she stepped into the warm atmosphere of the coffee shop. It was a cute little hole in the wall kind of place just off campus.

Sakura frowned when she remembered that Sasuke had said that he would be outside. She really didn't want to sit out in the cold, in the already chilly presence of Sasuke, but she supposed that was the beauty of it. No one would want to sit out in the cold, and so they had less chance of being seen.

Sakura ordered her drink – a chai tea latte – then braced herself for the cold as she went out the backdoor of the shop to the courtyard to find Sasuke. The black metal patio furniture looked creepy in the half-light of the moon. Dead leaves rattled with dry scraping sounds across the concrete patio, catching on the table legs and old Halloween jack-o-lanterns left from October. Sakura smiled at the desolate autumn scene.

And there was Sasuke.

He was sitting towards the back-left corner of the outdoor space, looking just as breathtakingly beautiful as he always did. It wasn't until she was a few feet in front of him that she noticed the darker-than-usual bags beneath his onyx eyes.

And she froze when he finally looked at her. Her mug of tea almost slipped from her fingers as her mouth dried up and her legs went numb. Sitting down alone at a table with Sasuke suddenly didn't seem like a good idea anymore. It didn't even seem possible.

"Sakura," his steady voice shook her. "Sit down. You look traumatized."

The cold wracked through her then, and she shuddered as she sat down and wrapped her arms around herself. When she lifted her eyes back up to Sasuke, he was scowling and looking away from her. She didn't like it.

"I – I'm sorry," Sakura rushed out. She hadn't been planning to apologize, but she had to say something, and the situation was like seventy-percent her fault, right? "I mean, I shouldn't have –"

"Sakura, stop talking," Sasuke breathed out, reaching out a hand and placing it over her trembling one on the table. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I've never been so affected by feelings like that, and I –"

He didn't continue until Sakura turned her hand around in his grip and tentatively laced her fingers through his own.

"And I," he went on, clearly looking anywhere but at her. "I just don't want you to think that this is something I normally do. That this is something I've ever done."

Warmth bubbled in Sakura's chest, fighting the cold as she held a giggle behind her tentative smile. "Sasuke… are you trying to tell me that you're not a slut?"

The light blush that colored his cheeks then was almost enough to make Sakura dance, but she held in her whimsical impulses to save his pride. "I mean, I'm not either, even though I guess it probably seems like I am…"

Sasuke snorted at that. "Please. Regardless, we shouldn't have done that."

Sakura blanched, and immediately pulled her hand from his grasp. That was definitely something on the top ten list of things a girl never wanted to hear.

"That's not what I…" Sasuke ran a hand through his wild black hair. "What I meant is we should have done this first."

"This?" Sakura quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Sasuke glanced at her warily, gesturing between the two of them. "This."

"You mean like, we should have gone on a date first?" Sakura could barely believe what she was hearing. Was Sasuke _actually _insinuating that he wanted to date her?

Sasuke cleared his throat, lacing his fingers together on the cold metal tabletop. "This is my fault because I should have addressed this with you a month ago, instead of letting it fester and boil until…until something happened."

"But you don't regret it, do you?" the words tumbled out before she could stop them. Sakura couldn't help but ask the question, though she dreaded the answer. Hearing him say that he regretted that night may have been enough to crush her completely.

"Tch. Obviously not." Sasuke scoffed, still pointedly looking away from her. "You should know that you are…extremely _tempting_, Haruno Sakura."

It was Sakura's turn to blush. "Um, I mean, thanks? I'm not, like, trying to be, or anything…"

"Exactly," Sasuke frowned, finally turning his gaze back to settle on her face in the moonlight.

They locked eyes for a moment, and then two, before everything caught up to Sakura and the embarrassment won out. "You're sure you don't think I'm too young?"

"Hn," Sasuke hummed. "You're not the issue."

Sakura furrowed her brow and frowned back. "You're not the issue either."

"Then what's the issue?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Maybe…there isn't one?" Sakura shrugged at him, a hopeful tilt to the corners of her eyes.

"Your hopeful attitude is charming, Sakura, but unfortunately it's just not that simple," Sasuke sighed, pressing a closed fist to his mouth.

"Why not?" Sakura asked, though she was sure she knew the answer.

"You're still my student."

"Only for a couple more months!"

"Yes."

"So, what's the problem?"

"Two months."

"Two months?"

"Patience isn't my strong suit."

"Oh," Sakura finally caught his meaning. He didn't want to wait two months to be together. A little irked, she folded her arms over her chest and sniffed. "Well, if you're saying you can't wait then I can't stop you from pursuing someone – "

"God_ damnit, _you're infuriating, do you know that?" Sasuke snapped at her. "Do I have to spell this out for you?"

Tilting her chin up and averting her gaze, Sakura sniffed and said, "I guess you do."

Sasuke was grinding his teeth so hard that Sakura could hear it. "I want you. In…every way. No one else. Things would be easier if you could just get that through your stupid, thick, beautiful head." He sounded strangled.

"Me?" Sakura scoffed, sure that at that point she must have been drugged because there was no way in hell that Sasuke was actually saying what she thought he was saying. "_Sure_. Well, right back at you. Just so you know."

"_God_, Sakura, why is this so hard for you to understand?" Sasuke pushed back from the table, and Sakura was sure that he was getting up to leave.

Instead, he simply stood with his back to her, shoulders bunched up nearly to his ears as he jammed his hands into the pockets of his black coat. He stood there silently for so long that Sakura herself was beginning to consider getting up and leaving. It was cold, after all. Her chai tea was all but forgotten.

Just as her frustration with the man was peaking and she was deciding whether to explode or just leave quietly, Sasuke spoke.

"Sakura," he said quietly, still with his back to her.

"What?" she snapped back, a little harsher than she meant to.

"I am not good at talking about _feelings_, so I need you to hear me when I say this, because I can't keep saying it," his words were rushed and half-whispered. "To put things simply, I…_like _you. You drive me crazy. I can't stop thinking about you and you're ruining my fucking life."

"Geez," Sakura snorted. "Sorry for wrecking your life."

Sasuke whirled on her then, a wild, angry look in his eyes as he fixed his glare on her. "Is that seriously all you got from that?"

_I like you. _Of course, the words were still ricocheting around in Sakura's head like a rubber bullet in a rubber room…but they were so foreign to her she wasn't sure she really understood them. What did _like_ even mean, anyway?

Sometime during her mental breakdown, Sasuke had sat back down. His black eyes were fixed on her face and his forehead was pinched in a classic scowl. He looked absolutely miserable. "Can you seriously not understand what I'm saying?"

"I'm just…it's kind of hard to believe I guess," Sakura shrugged, feeling significantly more self-conscious than she ever had before. "I mean, you're…you're amazing. You have a career and you're twenty-five and you could probably just about date any woman you wanted to. You're all beautiful and stuff. I just don't understand, Sasuke. Why me?"

Sasuke just stared at her, though his harsh expression had softened up a bit. "Why you?" he repeated. "Do you think so lowly of yourself?"

"N-no," Sakura spluttered. "I don't! I'm just not blind, Sasuke! You know you're out of my league."

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed openly at her. "Please."

"What?"

"I'd suggest it's the other way around."

"Oh, it's _so _not."

"You're impossible."

"You're infuriating."

A smile finally tugged at the corners of Sakura's lips, and she reached out tentatively towards Sasuke's hand resting on the table. Sakura watched their fingers intertwine easily, glancing up at Sasuke through her lashes to gauge his reaction. He looked irritated. He groaned in the back of his throat, pinching his lips together even more tightly than usual. He looked like someone had just inserted a thumbtack into the skin beneath his fingernail.

Sakura lifted an eyebrow at him, letting her smile falter just a little. "What?"

"Like I said," Sasuke clenched his jaw. "Patience. Not my strong suit."

A rush of heat flew to Sakura's cheeks. "Ah," she hummed under her breath. "Well, what if you don't have to be?" she asked, leaning across the table halfway and watching as his eyes lowered to her lips and held there. She leaned forward more until her lips were almost touching his, and she could feel the heat of his breath on her chilled mouth.

"Just kidding!" Sakura pulled back, fighting all her natural impulses to just kiss him. "You _totally _have to be."

Sasuke stared at her blankly, a dazed look on his usually stoic features. "Sakura," he grit his teeth together. "Don't do that to me."

Sakura giggled into her tea and smiled winningly at him. "Why not, Sasuke?"

The look on his face quickly wiped the smile from her rose petal lips. "Sasuke?"

"You're torturing me," Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's not fair."

"You're right," Sakura conceded with a nod. "I'll make it up to you."

"How?" Sasuke's eyes darkened in a way that reminded Sakura of another night. She shuddered lightly.

"Um," Sakura bit her lip, looking over his shoulder. "Like this?"

She kissed him sweetly. Nothing like the way she had kissed him the last time. It only lasted a moment, but things felt right when she pulled back and smiled up at him.

Sasuke wasn't smiling, but the look in his eyes was enough.

* * *

AN: Oof, sorry I've been gone forever. I'm in my final semester of college and it's been brutal. Hope you guys like this new chapter, thank you all for being patient and leaving me encouraging reviews! You're my precious little moonbeams. Let me know what you think! Hopefully I'll get chapter 13 out sooner. Yeet.

~ loony


	13. THIRTEEN

Thirteen

* * *

"Okay, Sakura, you can do this," Sakura muttered to herself outside of Naruto's door. "It's just Naruto."

"Yo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto's muffled voice came through the thin wood of the door. "Come in and stop mumbling outside my door like a stalker, will ya?"

"Damn it," Sakura cringed, pushing the door open dejectedly. "Hey, buddy."

"Sup?" Naruto looked over his shoulder at her, pausing his video game. "You okay?"

"Yeah, bro, totally chill," Sakura rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. This already wasn't going well. _Totally chill?_

"Um, okay, what the hell is wrong with you? Do you have food poisoning or something?" Naruto stood from his beanbag chair, approaching Sakura to place the back of his hand to her forehead.

"I'm fine, Naruto," Sakura sighed, gently removing his hand from her head. "I just kinda need a favor…"

"Well, what is it? No offense, Sakura-chan, but you're kind of acting like a freak."

"Says you," Sakura replied, sticking her tongue out at the boy. "I need you to badge someone into the building for me. Please."

"Um, why?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "Not that I won't do it, obviously, but why do you need me to? Is there something wrong with your card?"

"No…" Sakura worried her lower lip, trying to decide how much to tell Naruto. She had no doubts about his loyalty and trustworthiness, she just wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell him the truth without passing out.

"Okay, you're starting to freak me out here. What's going on?" Naruto asked sternly, uncharacteristic for him. "You need to tell me or I can't help."

"Well," Sakura swallowed heavily, trying to buy herself a few extra seconds. "There's this guy…"

"_Guy?" _Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes into foxlike slits. "Is he giving you problems?"

"No, no!" Sakura waved her hands back and forth. "Nothing like that. I just need your help getting him into the building and on to our floor, that's all."

"Okay, but why can't you just bring him up?" Naruto asked again, his expression relaxing somewhat.

"Umm, I guess because it might be problematic if people see us together?" Sakura tried for a sheepish grin (and was sure that she failed miserably.)

"Why?"

"Uh…"

"Sakura-chan."

"There's a chance that, maybe, possibly, hypothetically speaking of course…he's one of my professors."

Naruto was uncharacteristically silent for a beat. "I'm sorry," he paused. "You're dating your professor? You're _dating_?"

"We're not _dating,_" Sakura clarified quickly. "Just getting to know each other, that's all."

"Mmmhhhmm," Naruto folded his arms over his chest. "I know what _that _means."

"Naruto!" Sakura felt a blush staining her cheeks. "It's not like that!"

_Liar._

Narrowing his eyes once again, Naruto sighed. "So you just want me to go downstairs and let him in? How old is this guy, anyway?"

"He's twenty-five," Sakura answered. "And yeah. Ino's visiting home for the weekend so she can't let him in for me. _Please_?"

"Ugh, fine," Naruto rolled his eyes. "But I don't like this. You're still coming with me to the game tonight, right?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world," Sakura smiled sweetly up at the blonde boy.

"Don't try to suck up to me just because I'm going downstairs to let your new _boyfriend_ in, you little troll," Naruto said, ruffling Sakura's hair as he so often did. "I'll need to chaperone the two of you."

"He's not my boyfriend, and thanks but no thanks."

"Whatever," Naruto shrugged. "If he's anything other than a perfect gentleman, Imma knock his lights out. Just so we're clear."

"Do what you must, Naruto," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Can you just go down and bring him to my room, please?"

"Gross, fine," Naruto grumbled. "But don't expect me to be happy about this."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

Sakura opened the door to two very uncomfortable looking men.

"Here's her room," Naruto said curtly.

"Thanks," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Call me if you need anything, Sakura," Naruto mumbled, reaching out and pulling her into a one-armed hug and planting a kiss on the top of her head. He did all of this without breaking eye-contact with Sasuke.

"Okay, thanks, _Dad_," Sakura blushed beneath Naruto's lips. "Go back to your video game."

"In time, _Sakura-chan_, in time," Naruto spoke slowly, still not taking his eyes off of Sasuke's face.

Sasuke was glaring right back at him, with a fire in his eyes that Sakura had not yet seen. It was almost like they…

"Um, should I go?" Sakura pointed out the door with her thumb. "You guys seem like you need some alone time."

"Tch."

"Vomit, I'm out," Naruto shook his head, quickly retreating back to his own room. "I'll be back later to get you for the game. Be good."

The first ten seconds after the door shut behind Naruto were tense and awkward.

Finally, Sasuke spoke. "It won't be in that moron's best interest to kiss you again."

"Oh, please," Sakura rolled her eyes with a light chuckle. "That doesn't count as a kiss. And Naruto isn't a moron!"

Sasuke frowned, very clearly clenching and unclenching his teeth as he eyed her. "I'd say that it does. And that he is."

"Come here," Sakura motioned for him to come closer. "And kiss my head."

A light blush immediately stained Sasuke's cheeks and she almost died at the sight of it. A blushing Sasuke was a rare treat indeed.

"Tch. Why would I kiss your head?" he finally grumbled.

"Just do it."

"Fine."

Sasuke leaned down and placed a brief kiss to the top of her head, pulling back slightly to see what she was getting at.

"Now," she breathed, gently placing her hands on his sweater-clad chest and rising slightly onto her tiptoes. "_Kiss _me."

He didn't ask for a reason that time. Sasuke immediately bent down to press his lips to hers, igniting a flame in Sakura's stomach and an aching in her chest. It took all she had to pull back from him and shoot him a sheepish look. "See what I mean?" she asked. "It's different."

"Hn," Sasuke mumbled, cheeks still decidedly pink. "I still don't want his mouth within ten feet of you."

Sakura simply rolled her eyes, turning to clear the stack of books off of her desk chair to give Sasuke somewhere to sit. Once she was done, she retreated to her perch on her lofted bed, folding her legs beneath her and waiting for Sasuke to sit down.

"It's kind of risky for you to come here, so I definitely don't think we should do this again, but I wanted to be able to talk to you today and this was the easiest way. It helps that this is a freshman dorm and most of your students are seniors," Sakura started, already struggling with her own urges as she watched Sasuke sit down backwards on the chair, resting one arm on the chair back and tipping his head into his hand.

"Hn," was all Sasuke said as he nodded for her to continue.

"I know you said you don't like being patient - "

"I don't."

Sakura frowned at him for cutting her off. "_But _I think you're going to have to be. I mean, there are less than two months of classes left. About five weeks, actually. I'm not saying we can't talk but, we should be careful. Right?"

Sasuke had pressed his lips together into a firm line. "I suppose."

"It'll be around Christmas time, it'll be like a present," Sakura smiled.

(Let it be known that Sasuke's mind was assaulted with images of Sakura wearing nothing but Christmas stockings and a bow on her head.)

"I suppose," he mumbled a second time.

She hadn't expected him to pout so much.

"Well," Sakura tilted her head to the side and popped her neck before climbing down from her bed. "Now that we've talked about that, I've got to get ready to go to the stupid game tonight. You can stay and hang out though, if you want."

"Go to the game with Naruto?" came Sasuke's clipped voice from behind her as she moved to find some warmer clothes to wear. "Like a date?"

"_Not _like a date," Sakura scoffed. "He has a girlfriend, anyway, and Naruto is as loyal as they come."

"Men always have an ulterior motive."

"God, Sasuke, don't say things like that. You literally sound exactly like my dad," Sakura shivered, totally grossed out by the comparison.

"Your father sounds like a smart man," Sasuke replied, seemingly unbothered.

"It's not true, though, men don't _always _have an ulterior motive."

"I did."

"What?"

"I had an ulterior motive."

"When?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Since the first night I met you."

"Really?"

"I should think it was obvious."

"It really wasn't."

"Sakura, you can't go through life being so naïve," Sasuke chided. "If you would have invited me into your dorm room that night, I would've gone without a second thought. Later on, when I bought you drinks at the bar, I wanted your attention. I showed up to the Inuzaka party and hung around outside and downstairs hoping you'd show up in something…revealing."

Sakura was blushing so furiously her face felt sunburnt. Why did he have to say things like that? Was he _trying _to drive her crazy?

"My point being, men always have ulterior motives."

"Just because you do doesn't mean that Naruto does," Sakura all but squeaked. His little speech had done quite the number on her. "I mean, are you saying that every time you talk to a woman you have ulterior motives?"

"No," Sasuke snapped. "Obviously not. But talking is much different than kissing and going to football games."

Sakura turned to look at Sasuke then, and she immediately softened. He was honestly pretty cute when he was being jealous. "Sasuke, Naruto is my best friend. As much as you don't trust him, I need you to just try to trust me when I tell you things aren't like that between us. He loves his girlfriend, I swear."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but had begun fidgeting with the collection of mini anime characters that Sakura had sitting on her desk. She took that as a silent victory.

Still, now something was bothering her.

"Sasuke…"

"Hm?"

"You don't…you don't have an ulterior motive now…do you? You do like me, right?" Sakura asked the question while facing her closet, too embarrassed to say the words to his face.

He was behind her before she had even heard him move. She was positive that she would never figure out how he moved so quietly and quickly.

"I've told you how I feel and I meant it," came Sasuke's soft-spoken reply.

"Okay," Sakura breathed out. "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to this."

"I'm going to move to an apartment off campus soon," Sasuke's voice had moved farther away again. "I've been meaning to get off campus for awhile now, and then that way you'll be free to come and go without having to worry about going in to the faculty building all the time."

"That does sound nice, actually," Sakura smiled at the thought, pulling a sweater and a pair of jeans from her wardrobe. "Um, I'm going to change my clothes real quick…so…"

Sasuke made it a point to look very irritated as he covered his eyes with his hands. "Happy?"

(Let it be known that Sasuke was _not _happy.)

"Yes, thanks," Sakura replied. She knew it was silly, but somehow she didn't think that changing in front of him would be very conducive to the plan of holding off on their relationship until the end of the semester.

Sakura slid into her pants, but then realized she couldn't decide on her sweater. The red one that she was holding was warmer, but the dark green one was cuter and her favorite color. "Ugh, whatever. Open your eyes and tell me which sweater I should wear."

Sasuke dropped his hands immediately. He was _not_, however,looking at the sweaters.

"Hey!" Sakura frowned, covering her bra-clad chest with the two sweaters she was holding.

"Sakura, you can't ask for help picking a shirt while topless and expect me to look at the sweaters."

Sakura was sure she was blushing as red as the sweater in her right hand. "Fine!" she conceded, throwing the green sweater over her head quickly, not missing the way Sasuke's eyes followed every inch of exposed skin until she was covered again. "There. I am now ogle proof."

"Tch. No."

"Whatever."

Sasuke spent another hour or so in her room, just sitting there casually in her desk chair looking like a model with his stupid, crazy hair and enticing, bored expression. He watched her as she put her books away and as she filled out a homework assignment for her history class. Usually that kind of close scrutiny would have made her feel uncomfortable, but his eyes following her everywhere actually comforted her in a way. Sure, it brought a blush to her cheeks, but glancing over her shoulder to see Sasuke's dark eyes on her made her smile nonetheless.

"Sakura-chan," came Naruto's loud voice as he banged on the door. "You ready?"

"Jesus!" Sakura gasped, pressing a hand over her rapidly beating heart. "How many times do I have to tell you not to hammer on my door like that, you scared me, asshole!"

Sasuke had stood up and was glaring at the door like it had personally wronged him.

"Will you calm down, drama queen?" Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan! Just open up!" Naruto's raspy voice yelled again.

Sakura pulled her door open to see Naruto standing there with a handful of clothes. "What's that?" she asked.

"I just thought I should bring you back your clothes, you know, the ones from when you spilled that drink on yourself," Naruto shrugged, obviously trying to seem casual.

Uh oh. Sakura didn't even dare turn around to catch the look on Sasuke's face.

"Um, Naruto, I got those clothes back from you like a week ago," Sakura frowned at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Those look like Hinata's clothes."

"Oh," Naruto pretended to act surprised. "I guess they are. Whoops!"

"Naruto," Sakura's tone was dripping with false sweetness. "Go put your girlfriend's clothes back in your room and then come back here and play nice. Okay?"

Naruto only hesitated for a moment, before a pointed look from Sakura sent him running back down the hall.

Cautiously, Sakura turned to find Sasuke with a broken pencil from her desk in his hand and a nasty scowl on his face. He wasn't looking at her, just staring out her open door at a fixed point on the wall.

"Um, Sasuke? Just ignore Naruto. He's just trying to get at you," Sakura approached him slowly, placing a hand gently on his arm. "He's just being hesitant about you because he doesn't know you and probably because of our…situation. Can you blame him?"

Sasuke didn't speak, just continued scowling out the door. His expression had softened a bit, though, and his hand came up to brush hers softly. Sakura had a feeling managing Sasuke and Naruto was going to prove extremely interesting in the future.

"Okay, sorry, Sakura-chan, I'm ba – " Naruto faltered when he saw them standing together. "Bleh."

"Oh my god, you're twelve," Sakura rolled her eyes, taking her hand off Sasuke nonetheless. "Are you ready to go now, dipshit?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan, sorry, Sakura-chan," Naruto whined, putting on his cutest set of puppy-dog eyes and directed them at her with blinding force. "Can we go?"

"Fine," Sakura sighed. "You wanna go to the game Sasuke?"

"I don't think that would be wise," Sasuke mumbled from beside her, grabbing his coat off of the back of her chair and putting it on. "I'll just head back to my place."

"Okay, Sakura, grab your lousy excuse for a coat and let's go!" Naruto looked _far _too happy to be leaving Sasuke behind.

Sakura picked up her "coat", which was nothing more than a thick old fall jacket with patches on the elbows. They were cute patches, but they were still patches. She hadn't grown for so long that she'd had the thing for about six years – and she had gotten it from a thrift shop.

Sasuke apparently noticed, as he trailed the edge of one of the patches with his finger as he walked past her. "That doesn't look overly warm," he muttered.

"It is," Sakura reassured him. "Don't worry."

Naruto frowned. "It's not."

Sasuke just scowled.

"I'll see you later?" Sakura tried weakly as Sasuke headed for the door.

Sasuke merely nodded at her in parting as he basically pushed past Naruto and headed out the door. Naruto scowled after him.

"Wipe that look off your face, will you?" Sakura swatted Naruto on the arm as they left her room and she turned to lock the door behind her. "It looks weird when you're not smiling."

"I just don't know if I like that guy, Sakura," Naruto grumbled. "He seems like an asshole."

Sakura shrugged. "He kind of is, but it's just his exterior. He's sweet to me, for the most part, I promise."

"Fine, whatever," Naruto sighed, putting an arm around Sakura's shoulder and squeezing as they walked down the hallway. "Just tell me if you ever need me to get rid of him, okay?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, but let a smile tug at her lips anyway. "Okay. Dork."

* * *

"Thanks for coming with me to the game, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura squinted up at the tall, blonde boy sitting next to her on the bleachers. "Sure thing, Naruto. Although, you did kinda make it sound like you'd be here by yourself. You could've told me _he _would be here."

"Aw, Sakura-chan, Lee means well! You can't really blame him for being infatuated with you, can you?" Naruto grinned cheerily and pinched Sakura's cheek. "Besides, that's why I'm sitting between you two!"

"Where did he go, anyway?" Sakura sighed, looking around for the enthusiastic boy. "He's been gone for like, ten minutes."

"Eh, I don't know," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head absentmindedly. "I think he went to get a snack or something."

"Ah."

"Hey, Sakura-chan?"

"Hey, Naruto."

"Why don't you give Lee a chance?"

Sakura spluttered. "What?!"

"Come on!" Naruto wheedled. "He's a really nice guy and he likes you a lot! He'd be a really good boyfriend, I'm sure of it!"

"Naruto…" Sakura warned.

"What's the harm in giving him his shot?"

"The harm is I'm already sort of seeing someone and you know that!" Sakura hissed, still too nervous to say it out loud. "Can't you just accept it, for me? Please, Naruto. Lee is nice but I'm just not interested in dating him."

"Fine," Naruto sighed, looking deflated. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I just want you to be happy. If this Sasuke freak makes you happy, I'll let it be for now. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Thank you, Naruto. I – "

"Cotton candy!" Lee announced loudly, returning to his seat beside Naruto. "Blue for the gentleman and pink for the lady," he added, handing Sakura and Naruto a bag of cotton candy each.

"Thanks, Lee!" Sakura and Naruto said in unison.

"So, loveliest Sakura, I was thinking," Lee began leaning across Naruto to be heard over the din of the crowd. "Maybe next weekend we could – "

"Lee, did you see that?" Naruto shouted, drawing the boy's attention back out to the football field and subtly pushing him back into his seat. "That dude just got annihilated!"

Sakura cast him a secret smile.

People could say what they wanted about Uzumaki Naruto, but he was one hell of a best friend.

* * *

AN: Sorry this isn't the longest chapter, but I wanted to get something out for you guys since I was gone for so long between 11 and 12! I hope you guys liked this chapter, please leave me a review and let me know what you think :) I have some very interesting things planned for future chapters...mwahahaha. Also, isn't Naruto just too sweet for this world? *cue tears*

Also, we made it to 300 reviews! Yayayayay!


	14. FOURTEEN

Fourteen

* * *

"What are you doing on December eighteenth?"

Sakura frowned and quirked an eyebrow at the doctor. "Nothing that I know of, why?"

"I want you to come to a party with me, as my guest," Tsunade explained, inspecting her fingernails nonchalantly. "It's technically a party for faculty and alumni but I can bring you as my plus one. It would be an excellent opportunity for you to meet some influential people in the medical world."

"Are you trying to ask me on a date, Tsunade?" Sakura winked at her mentor over the stack of files she was sorting. "Because if so, I'm flattered, but I think you might be a little too old for me."

"Ha, you couldn't land me in a million years, Haruno," Tsunade scoffed. "But no, I just want to give you the chance to meet some people. Not to mention, your boytoy will be there."

Sakura felt the color rush to her cheeks. "H-he's not my boytoy, we're not even together officially…"

"Will you drop that already, Sakura? Just answer my question, do you want to come with me or not?"

"Are you sure that it's okay if I go?" Sakura asked, fidgeting idly with paperclips in a bowl on the desk. "I won't stick out?"

"Bah," Tsunade flapped a hand. "People bring their kids all of the time. You'll be fine."

"Well, sure then, thanks Tsunade. Um, what should I wear, though? I don't think I have any fancy party appropriate clothes."

"We'll go and get you something," Tsunade remarked absently. "Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it."

"But, Tsunade – "

"Shouldn't you be studying for something?" Tsunade snapped, effectively ending the conversation as she stood to go to her office.

"Fine," Sakura mumbled under her breath, pulling out a textbook just to appease her boss.

She didn't even need to study...

* * *

"Happy Thanksgiving, sweetie!" Sakura's mother hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you were able to make it home for the holiday!"

"Mom," Sakura mumbled against her mother's shoulder, spitting out a mouthful of hair. "You're crushing me!"

"Sorry, sweetie, we've just missed you so much!" Mebuki finally let go of her daughter, reaching out to squeeze her arm gently. "Your father and I feel like we haven't seen you in a year! And you too, Naruto!"

"Hehe, thanks for having me Mrs. Haruno!" Naruto palmed the back of his neck good-naturedly. "Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without you guys!"

"Of course, Naruto! You'll always be welcome here," Kizashi smiled at the boy. Sakura's parents had always been fond of Naruto, and once they had found out that he didn't have any family of his own, they had never left him out of a holiday. They even went so far as to buy him Christmas gifts and to put them under the tree. Sakura was beginning to dread the day he would spend the holidays with Hinata's family instead. Nothing would be the same.

"So, Naruto! I hear you've got a new lady-friend," Mebuki winked at the boy, as if reading Sakura's mind. "Little Hinata-chan?"

"Yup!" Naruto's face lit up even brighter, like it always did when he talked about Hinata. "She's awesome! Her family flew to the States for Thanksgiving vacation."

Sakura snorted. "Everything has to be a display of outlandish wealth with them, doesn't it?"

"Sakura," Mebuki gasped, pausing from her task of chopping vegetables to scold her daughter. "The Hyuuga's are blessed, there's no reason to punish them for it. Don't make Naruto feel uncomfortable."

"Nah, Sakura-chan is right. The Hyuuga's are pretty extravagant," Naruto chuckled. "Luckily, Hinata-chan isn't really like that. She goes along with it for her family's sake, but she's much more down to earth than her parents."

Sakura smiled up at Naruto from her slouched position at the kitchen table. It was crazy how quickly he could change her attitude.

"Sakura-chan has someone special too," Naruto sing-songed in a voice that didn't match the dastardly look he shot Sakura's way. Sakura met his eyes with a mixture of panic and fury.

The knife clattered to the cutting board so loudly that Sakura nearly jumped from her seat at the table. Mebuki had whirled on her pointing an accusing finger at Sakura with an absolutely horrified look on her face. "You…have a _what_? And you didn't tell me?!"

"A boy?" Kizashi clutched at his chest dramatically. "Sakura…we had a deal…"

"Now, now," Mebuki hushed her husband, face positively glowing. "We don't know that it's a boy. Who is it, Sakura? Who's your special someone, hm?"

"There's no one!" Sakura waved her hands frantically in front of her face. "Naruto has no idea what he's talking about," she punctuated the last word with a death glare at the blonde-haired offender. She was _so _going to kill him later.

"Uh," Naruto chuckled, somewhat uneasily. "Y-yeah, I don't know what I'm talking about! You know me, classic idiot! Hehe…"

"Oh no, you two aren't getting off the hook that easily," Mebuki wagged her finger at the pair, face becoming deadly serious. "Sakura hasn't been serious about anyone before. Well, of course, excluding the relationship she had with you, Naruto dear!"

"Mom!" Sakura was shouting now. "Jesus!"

"The good old days, eh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto nudged her with his elbow, wiggling an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Sakura smiled, slamming her own elbow into Naruto with a little more force than necessary.

"Focus you two!" Mebuki shouted, snapping in their faces. "Who is it?"

"Uh, Mom?" Sakura began, casting a glance at her father who was all but rocking back and forth in the corner. "I think we're killing Dad…"

"Oh, ignore him, sweetie, he'll be fine," Mebuki waved an uninterested hand towards her pale husband. "Now tell me. Who is your special someone?"

Sakura sighed. Well, there was probably no getting around telling her mother _something _at the very least. But what to say? How much of the truth should she give her mother?

"He's just a guy from my Anatomy class," Sakura finally settled on. "Nothing is official. We're just talking."

Mebuki looked like she might explode with joy. Kizashi, on the other hand, looked very near fainting.

"Uh, hey, Kizashi, let's go watch the game in the living room, what do you say?" Naruto laughed nervously, patting the man on the back and leading him to the other room. He shot a look over his shoulder at Sakura that said he was doing his best to help. Sakura glared back.

"So, what's his name?" Mebuki cooed, pulling her daughter back over to the table to sit. "What's he like?"

"Um," Sakura spoke slowly, not quite sure how much to give away. "It's Sasuke. He's smart, kind of quiet." _Kind of renowned for being a jerk. _

"What does he look like? Is he handsome?" Mebuki clapped her hands together like an excited child.

Sakura blushed a little at that. "Um, yeah, he's pretty good-looking."

"Well, my dear, I'm very happy for you!" the woman was beaming. "I just hope he deserves you! I can't wait to meet him. I never thought a boy as wonderful as Naruto would come along, but I do hope he compares! Otherwise, we may have to get rid of this Hinata girl and – "

"Oh my god, _Mom_! You are so embarrassing!" Sakura whined, hiding her head in her hands. "You already know that Naruto and I decided we're not meant to be a couple. We're perfectly happy as friends and that's never going to change."

"You can't honestly tell me that that boy wouldn't jump at the chance to be with you again?" Mebuki asked, voice lowered. "He was always so in love with you."

"_Was_," Sakura chided. "That part of our relationship came and went and a lifetime friendship has replaced it. Trust me, Mom. Naruto is probably the greatest guy I'm ever going to know, but we're not meant to be together like that. Plus, Hinata is really sweet. You'll love her once you get to know her. I'm sure Naruto will start bringing her up here soon…wait. Are you crying?"

"You've just grown up so much," Mebuki smiled, voice thick with tears, eyes shining bright. "Will you bring Sasuke around, too?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at her emotional mother, reaching across the table to place her hand over the older woman's. "Maybe someday, if our relationship continues. I'm sure that I will."

"I hope you two are using protection."

"_Mom_!"

* * *

The buzzing of her phone startled her. She and her parents and Naruto were half asleep on the couch, watching TV after stuffing their faces full of food for the better part of an hour.

_Home for the holidays? _Sasuke's text read.

_Yes, and you? _she replied.

_My family doesn't tend to celebrate. _Sasuke replied.

_So are you just at school? _Sakura frowned as she texted back. _It's got to be a ghost town there right now. _

_ It is, _Sasuke shot back.

_Aw, you must be lonely ;) _Sakura messaged back, chewing on her lip as she did so. Hopefully that wasn't, like, a totally creepy thing to say…

_I am… _came Sasuke's instant reply.

Before Sakura could even reply, another message lit up her screen. _Come see me? _

Sakura's heart thudded loudly in her chest. _I'm still at my parents :(_

_ For how long? _he asked.

_Till Sunday, _Sakura replied.

_Do you torture me on purpose? _Sasuke's next text read.

Sakura's inner fangirl was screaming. Sasuke always seemed to know what to say to make her heart race. She loved her family, but she was beginning to wish that she was back at school…

_I would never, _Sakura texted back. _I wish I was there, though. _

Sakura used her phone to take a picture of Naruto and her parents dozing on the couch and sent it to Sasuke. _Instead I'm here napping with these losers. _

_ Why is Naruto there? _Sasuke's reply came almost instantly and Sakura almost smacked herself. Sasuke was clearly a little bit the jealous type. While she realized that didn't mean that she couldn't have guy friends, she also wanted to be more cautious as to not flaunt it in front of him. No point in starting an argument.

_He always comes to Thanksgiving, he doesn't really have a family of his own, _Sakura explained. _He's part of our family now. _

_ I see, _Sasuke replied.

_Naruto is really important to me, Sasuke. He's a great friend and you'll like him, it's almost impossible not to, _Sakura texted back, feeling the need to be a little defensive of Naruto. The guy had taken enough shit in his lifetime. She wasn't willing to let Sasuke add to it in any way.

_We'll see about that, _Sasuke's text read.

Sakura smiled secretly to herself as she directed her attention back to her parents' small TV. She couldn't wait for the day that she could afford to buy them a new one. Her dad had always loved watching football, and she knew that he secretly wished he had one of the newer, HD flat-screen TVs.

_I want to buy my parents a TV. I was hoping to do it for Christmas this year but I don't think I'll be able to, _Sakura texted to Sasuke. _I can't believe Christmas is in a month already!_

_ Why do you want to buy them a TV? _he asked.

_Their TV is from like, 1999, _Sakura explained.

_Why do you have to buy it? _

Sakura hesitated. She didn't really like talking about her parents' financial state. She had always been the "poor" kid at school. The one with the shoes bought at the convenience store and the backpack from five years ago. And kids were always so mean.

In a way, she was glad for her misfortune early on in life. It was how she decided she was going to become a doctor and help people. Not just so that she could make the money, but so that she could do something good with her life and make a difference. It was also how she met Naruto. He'd always been something of a social pariah, after all. His parents, well-loved and respected members of the community, had died in a fire when he was a child, a fire with origins that had never been determined. It was widely believed by people in their small town that Naruto had somehow been responsible for the fire, although there was no real evidence suggesting that. It was like he was punished for surviving. He had only been a toddler when it happened.

It was all a stupid rumor, really, probably started by one of the many gossipy little old ladies of the town. But it stuck, and Naruto carried it around with him like a boulder on his back. When Sakura first met him, he was an obnoxious, ADHD, foster kid with no friends and the combined dislike of most of the teachers. He was constantly jumping around the lunchroom, bouncing in his desk chair, and hollering on the playground.

At first, Sakura was just as put off by him as the rest of her classmates. She avoided him diligently in the hallway and ran past him at recess when he would yell: "Sakura-chan!" She pretended she didn't hear him when he would greet her in class and crumpled up the love letters that he shoved through the slats in her locker.

Until one day, she read one of them.

The kids in school used to make fun of her for her forehead, (which thankfully, she grew into), and after a particularly nasty comment from one of the girls, Sakura had opened her locker to find one of Naruto's classic notes with a heart on the front. Instead of throwing it away like she normally would, she cast a glance over both of her shoulders before carefully opening it.

_Dear Sakura-chan, _the letter read, in terrible, childish handwriting. _You are so pretty. I think you are the prettiest girl in school. I hope you will be my friend. Love, Naruto._

And Sakura would like to be able to say that she had befriended Naruto because she was nice, but in reality she had done it because she was vain. She started hanging around him more and more, because he was the one kid in school who was actually kind to her and because he complimented her. She was ashamed to admit that it had taken her a couple of years to really, truly appreciate Naruto and be the friend to him that he was to her. But he never gave up on her.

By the time they both entered high school, they were inseparable. They made a few other friends along the way, Ino and Lee among them, and they all had a grand time being the "weird kids". That all changed around junior year, however, when Naruto became quarterback of the football team, and suddenly he was one of the most popular boys in school. Sakura's close relationship with Naruto dragged her into the lime light as well, and the two began dating shortly thereafter.

Their relationship was short-lived, and as soon as they had broken-up and gone back to their easy friendship, the girls of Konoha High turned on Sakura. They called her terrible names, accusing her of all kinds of ridiculous things, from cheating on Naruto to killing his pet frog. Naruto vehemently denied all the rumors, and eventually went so far as to quit the football team when a few of the cheerleaders threw their drinks on Sakura at a football game. Even though she knew it wasn't her fault, Sakura would never forgive herself for being part of the reason Naruto quit playing the sport he loved.

Every time she would bring it up to him, Naruto would simply ruffle her hair and say, "It's not like I was going to have a career in football or anything. Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. I don't regret any of it. Not dating you, and not quitting the football team. I'm just glad that I still have you in my life."

She liked Sasuke, she really, really did. He made her heart pound and her stomach lurch and her hands shake, and he made her _feel _something like she had never felt before. But she would never stand by and let him, or anyone else, hate Naruto. Not in one million, billion years. She felt responsible for protecting the blonde boy who had spent so much of his time and energy protecting her. She had seen and heard what people had done to him and said about him all his life, and she wouldn't stand idly by while Naruto took any more abuse. He'd lost his parents and then had been forced to feel guilty about it for his entire life. Sakura had made it her life's mission to make sure nothing like that happened to him ever again.

There were times when she thought about dating him again. Maybe they had been too immature when they tried to date in the past. But every time she sat down and really thought about it, she came to the decision that breaking up had been for the best. She loved Naruto like a brother, like family. As cute as he was and as sweet as he could be, Sakura just never felt that spark towards him. She knew that, deep down, he didn't really feel it either, even though he spent a long time thinking that he did. And honestly? It was comforting to know that that would never be an issue between them. They both knew that they always had each other's best interests at heart, without romantic feelings getting in the way.

She shot a look over at Naruto on the other end of the couch. He had his eyes closed. His head tipped back, and he was breathing heavily through his mouth. He never had been the cutest sleeper. She smiled all the same.

Returning her eyes to her phone, Sakura remembered that she still needed to text Sasuke back. _They can't afford it, _she typed, deciding to be honest.

Sasuke never replied, and Sakura couldn't help but think about him sitting alone in his campus apartment. Smiling privately, she thought that maybe next year, he could celebrate it with her family.

* * *

AN: Hiiii guys :D Sorry this chapter is kind of short. I wrote out of order and wrote 16 (and part of 15) before this one, because I had inspiration xD I'm so excited to post those two! 16 is one of my favorite chapters so far, so I'm super excited for you guys to read it.

Also, I know that Thanksgiving in Japan isn't the same as Thanksgiving in America, but I kind of started writing the chapter with an American Thanksgiving in mind. They're in the fictional land of Konoha anyway, I guess, so maybe they have American Thanksgiving there…hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

I realize Sakura and Naruto's relationship might be a little OOC in this fic, but I just can't stand the though of Sakura not being super sweet and protective to Naruto so I pretty much always write them like that. I hope you guys like it, too!

Thank you, as always, to TheBlackBriarSparrow for proof-reading for me and cheering me on :)

Let me know what you think of this chapter! See you soon with chapter 15 :D toodle-ooooooooooooooooooo, kids.

Love, loony

P.S. I have a rough pinterest board for some things related to this fic, would you guys wanna see it? Should I get a tumblr?

P.P.S. Thank you to twitter user ceejss for linking my story on her page. A few reviewers mentioned they found my story that way! Her art is also amazinggggggggggggg and you have to check it out.


	15. FIFTEEN

Fifteen

* * *

Her last final exam of the semester was Sasuke's. Several girls in the class, Karin being one of them, had cried upon turning in their exam, although Sakura wasn't sure if the tears were related to the test, or to losing Sasuke as a professor. Sakura had shot a secret smile at him the moment Karin had exited the room, looking longingly over her shoulder at the man behind his desk.

Sakura had finished the test almost thirty minutes ago, but something was keeping her in her seat. This classroom had pretty much changed her whole life, and this was her last day in it. Part of her was nervous, maybe a little scared, even. Sure, she had Sasuke's number, and sure, she saw him sometimes out of class. But class had been her guarantee. She saw him three times a week, every week. She didn't think that class ending would hurt their relationship…realistically, it _should _make it better, right? There wouldn't be a rule preventing them from being together anymore.

Still, Sakura chewed the end of her pencil, unwilling to stand from her desk and turn her last ever exam into Sasuke. She was overwhelmed by the finality of it all. She had been dreaming of this day for weeks, dreaming of the day that all the red tape would be gone and she could be with Sasuke without risking getting him in trouble. But now? She sat frozen in her seat as one by one, students marched up to the front and handed in their papers.

Sasuke had fixed her with a questioning gaze more than once, one eyebrow raised nearly imperceptibly as he silently seemed to ask, "what's wrong?" Every time his eyes had caught hers, Sakura had dropped her gaze immediately to her finished exam. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but suddenly turning in her test felt like an impossible task.

She stared blankly at the exam bubble sheet. One hundred questions, one hundred bubbles. Sakura counted them all and then counted again, counted them vertically, then horizontally, then forwards, then backwards. It had to be painfully obvious to everyone in the class that she was stalling, but Sakura could only hope that no one was paying her any attention.

"Time's up," Sasuke's cool voice interrupted her thoughts. Sakura looked up to see a student, the last student in the room, handing in his exam and scurrying out the door. She had somehow managed to sit there for the entire two-hour testing period without noticing.

Sasuke climbed the stairs to her row, still giving her that questioning look. "Since you failed to turn in your exam in the allotted amount of time, I'm afraid you'll be receiving a zero."

_That _snapped Sakura out of her daze. "W-what?!"

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, snatching the papers up from her desk and giving her a look that told her he had been kidding.

"Geez, don't say stuff like that," Sakura mumbled, gathering up her worn-out bag. "You'll kill me. Heart attacks run in my family, you know."

Sasuke shot her another look, this one saying he wasn't amused. "Come on. You should get out of here and enjoy being done for the semester."

Sakura stood and followed Sasuke down the steps to his desk. "Are you staying here over the winter break?" Sakura asked from behind him.

"For some of it," Sasuke replied, adding her exam to the stack on his desk. Clearly, he wasn't going to elaborate.

"Are you visiting your family at all?" Sakura pressed, hoping her curiosity wouldn't come back to bite her. Sasuke didn't tend to enjoy conversations about his family, it would seem.

"Yes," he answered shortly. "For a few days."

"Oh, well that's…nice," Sakura kicked her tennis shoe-clad toe into the ground, feeling a little awkward. "Me too."

"Why didn't you hand in your test earlier?"

…she should have known he was going to ask her that.

"Um, I wasn't sure if I was done?" she scratched the back of her head and looked away from his piercing gaze. "It was a pretty hard test…"

"I never took you for a liar, Sakura," Sasuke frowned, gathering up the exam sheets and placing them in a box.

"I just," Sakura began, unsure of what she should say. "I just wasn't sure what would happen, you know, now that your class is over. Things are going to change and I…I just hope it's a change for the better."

Sasuke dropped the box back onto his desk, folding his arms across his chest, scowl set deeply into his face. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura blushed, she hated when he looked at her like that. So intense. "Um, I mean like, you know, with us. Class was a big part of how we see each other, and it's over now."

"Oh my god," Sasuke ran his hands through his gloriously disheveled hair and almost gave Sakura a different kind of heart attack all-together. "You're worried about us not seeing each other?"

"Well, yeah," Sakura blushed harder, confidence waning. "I mean, kind of."

"I know you've told me that calling you stupid is rude, but you make it so hard not to," Sasuke sighed to the ceiling.

"Hey!" Sakura snapped, punching him lightly on the arm.

His hand immediately clamped down on hers, pinning her fingers to his bicep. "I have no intention of not seeing you, _stupid_."

She tried to be mad at him. She really did. And if she thought he really meant it when he called her stupid, she would have been. It was just how he was. It was like every time he said something sweet, he had to sprinkle in just a little bit of asshole to maintain balance.

"Really?" she asked finally, when he had been staring at her long enough for her knees to feel weak.

He rolled his eyes. "_Really._ I'm getting an apartment off campus soon. It'll be easier for you to visit me there. Even though you're not my student anymore, you won't have to be uncomfortable coming to see me in the faculty building all the time."

"That's really sweet of you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura beamed up at him, noting the slight blush that colored the very tips of his cheekbones.

"Hn," was all he said, averting his gaze to the wall.

Typical.

* * *

She'd tried on about a hundred dresses, and Tsunade _still _wasn't happy.

Poor Shizune stood next to the doctor, about ten dresses piled in her arms. Sakura nearly cried when she saw them all. "Uh, Tsunade? Don't you think this is a bit…excessive? Shizune looks like she's about to fall down."

"No, no!" Shizune gasped from behind the massive pile of clothing. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine!"

"See? She's fine," Tsunade snapped. "Try on this black one," she snatched the top dress from Shizune's pile. "And Shizune, hand those to me and you go sit down."

Sakura tried not to roll her eyes as she took yet another dress into the fitting room to try on. They'd been at this for hours. As usual, the dress was gorgeous and Sakura thought it looked great, only to be met with the disapproving glare of Tsunade when she left the fitting room.

"Damn," Sakura sighed. "You're not easy on the ego, you know that?"

"Oh, hush," Tsunade tutted. "It's not you, it's the dresses. Just try these last three and I'll pick from those. Fair?"

"I _guess_," Sakura pouted dramatically, taking Tsunade's chosen three and heading back to the fitting room. She reminded herself that she should be grateful, she would never be able to afford dresses like these without Tsunade

If the woman didn't pick one of these, however, Sakura wasn't sure that a dress was worth this continued torture…

* * *

The Christmas party was only a day away, and it was taking all of Sakura's resolve to avoid telling Sasuke that she was going. She was curled up by his side on his couch, watching a Christmas movie that she had begged him to watch, and she was so excited she almost let it slip. She wanted it to be a surprise so bad that she somehow managed to hold it in.

Sasuke had fallen asleep almost an hour ago. His head was tipped back against the back of the couch and he was breathing deeply. Apparently, Christmas movies weren't his thing. Sakura watched him for a while, eventually reaching out to link her fingers with his own, pleased when she felt him tighten his grip a little. He had stayed true to his word, and the pair had seen each other nearly every day since class had ended. Sakura would be going back home for the break after the party, though, and so she was spending her last evening on campus with Sasuke.

He looked so different outside of class, somehow. More relaxed. Instead of dress clothes he was wearing a t-shirt and sweats, and his hair…well, his hair was kind of the same. In sleep, his face was unguarded, his forehead wasn't pinched, and his lips weren't frowning. He was somehow even more beautiful than usual.

Sasuke sighed deeply in his sleep arm snaking up and around Sakura's shoulders, bringing her closer to him on the couch. Sakura smiled, tucking her head into the crook of his neck as she turned her attention back to the movie.

She didn't see the gentle upwards tug of Sasuke's lips.

Sakura fell asleep like that, tucked under his arm on his couch. She woke up once in the middle of the night, the movie had long since ended. She made to stand up, trying to gently slip from Sasuke's grip without waking him.

"You're leaving?" Sasuke's groggy voice froze her.

Sakura nearly melted when she looked back to see him rubbing his eyes sleepily, like a child would. "I don't have to."

"So don't," he said, tugging gently on her arm.

And so she didn't.

* * *

"God, Ino," Sakura sighed. "Stop crying, will you?"

"You just look so beautiful," Ino wailed, ruining her own makeup as she applied a final sweep of mascara to Sakura's lashes. "I can't believe you're going to a fancy party to meet up with your model boyfriend. What did I do wrong?" She cried, shaking her fist at the unknowable universe.

"Calm down, Ino," Sakura chided, trying to keep her laughter in check. "It's not that big of a deal…"

"Not that big of a deal?!" Ino screeched. "Why does all the good shit happen to you? You don't even understand how big of a deal it is!"

"Ino!" Sakura scolded, standing and approaching her gently as one might approach a wild animal. "It's okay, I get it. It's a big deal. I'm just nervous, that's all."

"Nervous?!" Ino's mood changed immediately. "Why are you nervous? You look absolutely stunning, babe! You're going to knock his socks off."

"It's not just that," Sakura mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck self-consciously. "This party is with people way outside my social-class. I'm going to feel weird."

"Oh, Sakura," Ino's face immediately softened. "You're going to do fine. Tsunade will help you and you look beautiful. You'll fit right in."

"You sure?" Sakura asked, shooting her friend an appreciative smile.

Ino laid a hand on her best friend's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm positive."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's raspy voice was accompanied by frenzied knocking at the door. "Open up!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Ino, turning to open the door for her loudmouthed friend. "What is it, you fre…woah. You look adorable."

Naruto stood in her doorway, dressed up in a black tuxedo with his hair actually styled for once in his life. He had a bowtie hanging untied around his neck. "Can you help me tie this torture device?" he asked, gesturing towards the tie around his neck. "Hinata isn't here to help me and I have no idea what to do with it."

"Come on in," Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room. "Ino, do you know how to tie a bowtie?"

"No, but YouTube does!" Ino held her finger up in the air before scurrying to her laptop. "Hang on, Naruto, I'll save you."

"Thanks," Naruto grinned. "You look awesome, Sakura-chan!"

"Thanks," Sakura blushed a little. "I'm glad you're going to be at the party with Hinata, I might need to hang out with you guys depending on how things go."

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed. "I'm just glad I'll be there to keep an eye on that Sasuke guy. I promised your dad that I'd make sure he's good for you, hehe."

"Oh my god," Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead. How typical.

"Forehead!" Ino yelled from behind her laptop. "What did I say about touching your face?!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Sakura held her hands up in surrender.

Ino grumbled something under her breath, likely derogatory, before turning to Naruto. "Alright, get over here blondie."

* * *

Sakura and Tsunade got to the party twenty minutes late, as Tsunade had insisted that it was imperative to snub Danzo in any way possible. Sakura had been all too happy to oblige, this Danzo guy seemed like a creepy brat. Granted, she had only met him once, in Sasuke's office, but still…he had seriously rubbed her the wrong way.

Butterflies fluttered in Sakura's stomach as she remembered the text she had received from Sasuke only moments before they had arrived.

_I miss you, _it had said.

Three simple words, but they were words that had been surprising coming from Sasuke. She didn't think she would ever get tired of the rare moments when Sasuke told her how he was really feeling. Their scarceness made them all the more special.

"I'm so glad that you're here," Tsunade grumbled under her breath as they approached the admittedly beautiful house. "I wouldn't be able to make it through this without you. And gin. Gin as well."

Sakura merely rolled her eyes at her mentor, taking in the splendor of the massive house as they came to the door. There was a huge roundabout out front with a fountain in the middle, valets bustling around it, taking cars from the guests. The landscaping was beautiful, with perfectly trimmed hedges and bushes and dozens of pots of red carnations sprinkled about. A butler greeted them at the front door.

A massive, sparkling, crystal chandelier hung overhead in the entryway, and Sakura was sure that it cost more money than she would ever make in her lifetime. The white marble floor was spotless, and there were two sets of grand stairs on either side of the room leading up to a second level that overlooked the entryway. Sakura was suddenly dizzy with how far out of her league she was. In the financial world, she was likely much more closely aligned with the serving staff.

"Tsunade," she began with a dry mouth and slightly shaky hands. "I'm not so sure if it's a good idea for me to be here…"

"Oh, hush," Tsunade chided, taking Sakura by the arm and leading her towards the bustling sound of people in the other room. "We talked about this, you'll be fine."

"I'm way out of my league here!" Sakura was embarrassed to feel the tiniest prickling of tears. "I'm going to have no clue how to act."

"Just act like yourself, you're overthinking this," Tsunade scolded, still with her arm looped tightly in Sakura's. "You don't have to do anything special, these people aren't royalty. Plus, I'm just dying to see the Uchiha boy's reaction to you in that dress…"

"Tsunade!" a blush overtook Sakura's pale features.

Admittedly, the dress _did _look pretty good. She had Tsunade to thank for that. Without her, she'd have been stuck wearing her prom dress from senior year, which she had bought for $20 at a dress shop that had been going out of business. It was two sizes too big.

Instead, she was dressed like a princess. The gown was a deep, maroon color that made her eyes sparkle even brighter than usual. It was relatively simple – it had a detailed, lacy top with spaghetti straps and a silky skirt with a slit up one side. Sakura had initially protested but was eventually convinced by Tsunade and her fervent encouragement. Encouragement in this sense meaning _whining_. She had a pair of simple sparkly stud earrings in and a delicate silver chain necklace with a tiny silver butterfly around her neck. It had been a gift from her parents when she graduated high school.

The room they entered was massive, and appeared to be some form of ballroom. It was packed with people all dressed to the nines, mingling and chatting over cocktails and appetizers. The long back wall was lined with several glass doors that appeared to lead to a balcony outside.

Sakura had never seen so many well-dressed people in her life. There had to be hundreds of them, but the large room made the group seem smaller. She recognized some local politicians and business people, but the majority of them were largely alien to her. No sign of Sasuke.

No sign of Naruto, either. She caught a glimpse of Hinata's parents, but neither Naruto nor Hinata was with them. Sakura frowned, she was hoping to find Naruto or Sasuke right away. She had no way of knowing how long Tsunade was going to say sober…

She _did _see Kabuto, however, and she grimaced. He was standing towards the edge of the party with a skinny, pale man with long dark hair. Seeing Kabuto in the company of such a creepy looking man made him all the more alarming to Sakura. She made a note to keep an eye out for him.

"Ah, Tsunade-San. Wonderful to see you could make it," Danzo appeared in front of Sakura and Tsunade, smiling coldly. "Who is your lovely guest?"

Sakura's eyes locked with the man standing before her, narrowing only slightly when he all but leered at her.

"This is Haruno Sakura. She works for me at the clinic," Tsunade replied stiffly, clearly not caring enough to fake politeness. "She's going to be a doctor someday."

"How very fascinating!" Danzo cooed, eyes straying a bit from Sakura's face. "I do believe I've seen you before. Was it in Uchiha Sasuke's office perhaps?"

Sakura grit her teeth at the sound of Sasuke's name coming from the man's lips. "Yes," she did her best to keep her voice civil. "I believe so."

"Right," Danzo's smile never faltered. "Well, the Uchihas are here somewhere, you'll have to be sure to say hello to him. I'm _sure _he'd love to see you again."

"We'll let you tend to your other guests," Tsunade smiled at the man (it was more like a grimace), as she reclaimed Sakura's arm and led her away from him. "Sorry about that Sakura, he's such a creep."

But Sakura wasn't listening.

Because there was Sasuke.

And on his arm was a beautiful blonde-haired girl, clinging to him for dear life and looking at him like he had hung the moon for her.

* * *

AN: OOPS CLIFFY MB HEHE. Sorry… Luckily, chapter 16 is pretty much finished so I won't keep you guys waiting for too long.

I changed my username to loonymoony, previously loonymoony17. When I made this account years ago, loonymoony was taken, but it's free now so I jumped on it :D ;)

I made a twitter, (mostly to thank ceejss for linking my story and drawing amazing art), but I think I'll use it to interact with readers/post snippets too, so follow me loonymoonyff if you want! I made a tumblr, but I'm not really sure if I'll use it yet. I'm on Pinterest as loonymoony as well, but I don't have too much posted there.

Standby, I promise chapter 16 will be here soon! Leave me a review and let me know what you thought of this one ;) *devious laughter*

Love, loony :)


	16. SIXTEEN

AN: Important note! Please consider listening to the song Gymnopédie No.1 by Erik Satie while reading the scene that begins with the words "And so she took Kabuto's hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. She almost rolled her eyes as they began to dance and her favorite song started to play." I wrote it while listening to this and in my opinion it totally just makes the scene.

* * *

Sixteen

* * *

Sakura's mouth had gone completely dry. She felt like a southern belle who had just seen Rhett Butler for the first time...but like, in a bad way. In a matter of seconds, her knees were so weak she thought she would fall and her chest hurt so bad she thought she might stop breathing. She _did_ stop breathing, for a moment at least.

"Sakura," Tsunade asked, voice laced with concern as she immediately picked up on Sakura's distress. "What is it?"

But Sakura didn't speak. She really couldn't. She could only stare at the man whose arms she had spent the night before sleeping in. The man who had told her she made him happy and was making him feel things that he didn't even know he could. The man who was now twenty feet away from her, arm in arm with a model-level gorgeous woman who was smiling at him like she had loved him for a hundred years. The man that maybe she didn't know nearly as well as she thought she did.

And he looked beautiful, like he always did. He was in an all black suit that matched perfectly, his hair elegantly un-styled. His perfection was almost enough to distract Sakura from the blonde-haired beauty cozying up next to him. Almost.

"Oh," Tsunade's soft voice came from beside her, and Sakura knew she must have seen Sasuke. "That little _sonofamotherfuckingbitch._"

Before Sakura even knew what was happening, she was being dragged closer and closer to Sasuke by Tsunade. Even though her brain and heart were screaming at her to run, Sakura was powerless to heed their warnings. She was stunned into stillness by the washing pain of a broken heart.

The moment Sasuke saw her, his face displayed more emotion than she had seen from him in public before. He looked terrified as a raging Tsunade and a shell-shocked Sakura made their way towards him.

"Uchiha Sasuke-san," Tsunade bit out, voice dripping with a fake sweetness Sakura hadn't realized the woman was capable of. "I believe you know my employee. She was a student of yours this semester, was she not?"

Now it was Sasuke's turn to be silent. His eyes were wide and pained as he stared at Sakura, and he was quiet for so long Sakura began to wonder if he had even heard Tsunade. She tore her eyes away from him, unable to hold his intense gaze for fear of bursting into tears. She looked at his shoulder instead.

"Sasuke-kun?" his date nudged him with her elbow. Sakura shuddered at the suffix.

The girl was gorgeous, there was no denying that. She was definitely a few years older than Sakura, standing almost a head taller. Her long, blonde hair was loosely curled, and it complimented the dark, wintry blue of her dress beautifully. Of all the times Sakura had felt inadequate, none had compared to the moment she stood before that woman. And she had called him _Sasuke-kun_.

"Yes," Sasuke's voice came out pitifully strangled after what felt like a hundred years. "I know Haruno Sakura."

"And who is your guest here?" Tsunade gushed with so much fake enthusiasm the whole room must have noticed. "Who is this young lady?"

"Akemi Sayomi," Sasuke bit out. "…a friend of the family."

"Hm," Tsunade went on. "Are you two a couple now? Your mother must be so happy."

"Not yet," the woman finally spoke up, giggling lightly. "But - "

"No." Sasuke's voice was resolute.

The blonde's smile faltered for a moment, but her lapse was over quickly. She was back to smiling with an awestruck expression on her face before Sakura could say boo.

Sakura didn't dare speak, as she felt that some of her internal organs had lodged themselves into her throat. She didn't look at Sasuke either, even though she could feel his eyes boring a hole into the top of her head.

"Come on, Sakura, let's get a drink and leave these two to their business, hm?" Tsunade spoke again, grabbing Sakura's hand and gently leading her away from the most heinous man she had ever met.

On a whim, Sakura swallowed heavily and turned back, finding Sasuke'a eyes still fixed on her, no trace of emotion left on his face. "It was nice to see you again, _Uchiha-sensei."_

His eye twitched.

She and Tsunade all but ran to the bar. They both ordered a shot of gin, then another, then a third, before Tsunade placed her hand down on Sakura's and squeezed. "Sakura…I'm sorry. I always knew Uchiha Sasuke was an ass but…he seemed so different with you. If I ever had the slightest inclination that he would do something like this I never would have encouraged you."

Sakura stared blankly ahead, a little dizzy from taking three shots back to back and a little lightheaded from having her world tipped sideways. "It's not your fault, Tsunade. I didn't see this coming either."

"All the years I have been coming to this God-forsaken party and never once have I seen that man here with a date," Tsunade fumed. "I guess all his years of stuffy celibacy caught up to him and he's just gone crazy."

Sakura blanched as Tsunade turned to get them both another shot. Now her mind was filled with lewd images of Sasuke and his beautiful date, rolling around his bed, tangled in his sheets. It was enough to make her nauseous. What if this girl was the reason Sasuke had hesitated the night they had slept together? Was _Sakura _the other woman? Had she slept with that blonde woman's boyfriend?

She practically inhaled the shot Tsunade sat in front of her, then had a fifth before she really started feeling wobbly. Her alcohol tolerance was still pretty low and she had barely eaten all day. Five shots in five minutes was testing her luck.

Dancing had started, at some point, and Sakura was relieved to see that Sasuke and his date weren't out on the dance floor. _That _sight would have surely been enough to launch her into cardiac arrest and probably kill her. No, they had since taken up residence at a small table for two on the outskirts of the party, Sakura staring blankly at the crowd and Tsunade frowning into her mixed drink.

"My, my, ladies, why the long faces?"

Sakura's head snapped up immediately to find that Kabuto had come up to their table.

"This is a party, isn't it?" his classic smile was glued firmly in place.

Sakura had to admit that he looked nice, but maybe that was just the alcohol talking. "Just tired, Kabuto. Nothing is wrong."

"Glad to hear it, dearest Sakura-chan," Kabuto replied, when Tsunade remained silent. "I must confess, I had an ulterior motive for approaching you, even though I was curious as to your unhappy expression."

_Ulterior motive. _Sakura was reminded of Sasuke and his lecture. He had said that men always had an ulterior motive, including himself.

"And what's that?" Tsunade snapped, finally dragging her eyes up to look at the man.

"I came to ask Miss Haruno to dance," Kabuto replied easily, ignoring Tsunade's cold demeanor.

Sakura only had to think for a moment. "Of course. I'd love to dance with you."

"Sakura…" Tsunade started.

Sakura shot a look back at her boss, mouthing _trust me _as she stood to follow Kabuto. Maybe it was just the alcohol giving her courage, but Sakura couldn't pass up the opportunity to twist the knife in Sasuke a little bit. Even if he _was _a lying piece of shit, she knew he hated Kabuto and would be positively furious to see her dancing with him.

And so she took Kabuto's hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. She almost rolled her eyes as they began to dance and her favorite song started to play. Gymnopédie No.1. It would have been nice to dance with Sasuke to that song, she couldn't help but think.

But instead she was with Kabuto, who was holding her too close and rubbing gentle circles into her hand with his thumb. She tried not to think too hard about it.

Her stomach plummeted to her toes when she finally caught Sasuke's eyes. The emotions she so hoped for were there, and there were so many of them that Sakura felt dizzy. She saw him crestfallen. By the time they had circled back around she saw him enraged. On the third turn, he looked completely and utterly lost. He had dropped the blonde girl's arm and his hand was hanging loosely at his side. Sakura briefly wished she was holding it.

"I'm so glad you agreed to dance with me, Sakura," Kabuto sighed, far too close to her ear. His breath smelled like alcohol.

And Sakura, drunken little minx that she was, leaned into Kabuto, letting his lips brush her ear ever so slightly, hoping he took her shiver for one of pleasure and not one of repulsion. She never broke eye-contact with Sasuke. The glass he had been holding shattered in his hand. She had clearly struck the nerve she had been aiming for.

She hoped his hand wasn't bleeding.

At least he had the blonde girl to tend to him.

The song lulled on, putting Sakura into a kind of daze as she twirled slowly around and around the dance floor, eyes lighting on Sasuke every time she was facing him. His shoulders were drooped, his hands had found their way into his pockets. And he was watching her so intently she thought she might melt under the steady heat of his gaze.

A million memories washed over her then. The night she met him. Her first day in his class. The day he sat with her on the bench and brought her a muffin. The time he kicked Karin out of class. The first time he kissed her. The night she went to his apartment and they slept together.

Sakura had never been in love, but she was beginning to believe that she never wanted to be. What good was it to put yourself in a position to endure so much pain? This would be so much worse if she loved him.

The blonde girl was looking at her now too, Sakura noted. She had obviously followed Sasuke's gaze. She didn't look happy that Sasuke had dropped her hand and was now clearly staring at Sakura, but it also seemed likely that she wouldn't be doing or saying anything about it. Sakura got the impression that the girl would put up with far worse if it meant being with Sasuke.

_That _thought caused Sakura's heart to thud painfully. What chance did she even have? The girl he was with was fantastically beautiful, and seemed to be sweet, more or less. She was obviously head over heels for Sasuke. Sakura felt pathetic for pining, he had lied to her after all. Sasuke had let her believe that he didn't want anyone else, that she was the only one. What a cruel joke.

Why had she even come to this stupid party anyway? Why did she let Tsunade talk her into it? She had been skeptical from the beginning and she should have trusted her gut on it. Tsunade would've seen Sasuke with the woman and could have told Sakura about it. There was no need for Sakura to be here witnessing it herself.

"It seems everyone has eyes for you tonight, Sakura," Kabuto mumbled, clearly having seen Sasuke. "You should be careful of men like him."

Sakura almost snorted at the irony. Sasuke said watch out for Kabuto. Kabuto said watch out for Sasuke.

Either way, Sakura felt like she was fucked.

The haunting melody of the song was getting to her, though. The gentle sway of the dancing, the piercing of Sasuke's eyes...it was all overwhelming to her oversaturated senses. Tears began to form in her eyes for what felt like the tenth time that night. She was close enough to Sasuke to know that he saw the one tear that managed to escape and trace down her cheek.

She was glad that he saw it. Bastard.

Someone was cleaning up the broken glass, then. Sasuke had stooped down to help, eyes still trained on Sakura's movements like his life depended on it. Never in her entire life had Sakura regretted anyone more.

Her eyes found Tsunade on the next turn. The doctor was leaning on her arm on the table, talking to a large, white-haired man who had taken her place. They seemed comfortable, Sakura thought.

When she made it back to Sasuke, the glass had been cleaned up. His hands were back in his pockets. His eyes were still on her.

Sakura's heart still hurt.

She hoped that by some trick of the universe his was hurting a little bit too.

Because it couldn't have all been fake, right? There was no way he could've faked all the things he said, all the things he did. He was very clearly upset to see her dancing with Kabuto. That had to mean something…didn't it?

Suddenly, she was fighting off a fresh onslaught of tears. Her thoughts were permeated with _Sasuke Sasuke Sasuke. _She didn't know what she had done in her last life to deserve this heartache, but she cursed herself for it all the same.

She felt more and more hollow with every note of the song. Everyone else in the room had become a blur to her. Even Kabuto. It felt cliché to think that way, but suddenly it seemed like Sasuke was the only other person in the universe.

But Sasuke wasn't really there. In actuality, she was alone.

When the song ended and Sakura was finally permitted to let go of Kabuto, he suggested they get some air on the balcony. Sakura's drunken mind couldn't find a good reason to say no, and so off they went, Sakura allowing herself to be led by the hand out of one of the sets of glass doors. The freezing air slapped Sakura in the face immediately, prompting Kabuto to slide his jacket off and place it around Sakura's narrow shoulders.

"Thank you," she mumbled, not daring to look at him, instead choosing to tilt her head back and look up at the stars. "Beautiful," she mumbled to herself, approaching the railing to lean on.

"They're nothing compared to you," Kabuto whispered, reaching out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

Sakura blanched, suddenly feeling nauseous. She hadn't noticed right away, but she and Kabuto were the only two people out on the balcony…

"Oh, um, well, thank you," Sakura stammered. "That's not true, though."

"Yes, it is," Kabuto nodded emphatically, turning her around so her back was pressed against the railing and he was standing in front of her. "From the very first day I met you, Sakura, I've been enraptured. You're beauty, your brain, you're absolutely irresistible."

He was leaning in _way _too close.

"Kabuto, I – " Sakura attempted to back up, back had nowhere to go, suddenly realizing that _maybe _this hadn't been her greatest idea. Sasuke's warning to never go anywhere alone with Kabuto was ricocheting around in her head.

She had no time to think before Kabuto's lips crashed into hers forcefully, his hands clamping down on her arms and his body pressing her painfully into the railing. She pushed hard against his chest, but she was drunk and he was strong and he wasn't budging.

By the time he ripped his lips from hers, she was breathing heavily and trying to yell at him. "Stop it!" she fumed, when he still wasn't letting go of her arms. "Let me go!"

But he wasn't letting her go. As a matter of fact, his grip was tightening and his face was getting closer to hers again. "Come on, Sakura, loosen up. I'll get you another drink and we can – "

Kabuto was cut off by a hand slamming down on his shoulder and wrenching him backwards. Sakura nearly crumpled to the ground at the loss of his body there holding her up.

"I believe she told you to let her go," Sasuke's steely voice washed over them both as he grabbed Kabuto's jacket from Sakura's shoulders and shoved it into the other man's hands.

"She's cold!" Kabuto protested angrily as the jacket was thrust into his arms.

"She'll be fine," Sasuke deadpanned as he slipped out of his own jacket, placing it around Sakura's shoulders instead. "I suggest you go inside while you still can."

Kabuto stared at Sasuke with so much malice then that he seemed like a completely different person to Sakura. Gone was the cheery smile of Kabuto, it was replaced by an anger so vile, Sakura felt the need to run and hide. Sasuke glared right back at him, towering a good few inches above Kabuto. He didn't break eye-contact with him.

Finally, the white-haired man turned to go with one final sneer in Sasuke's direction, not giving so much as one glance at Sakura. He stalked away, putting his jacket back on and slamming the door to the house behind him.

Sakura froze. She knew that Sasuke was still there, but she had turned to look out over the balcony and couldn't seem to summon the courage to turn back towards him. Maybe if she just ignored him, he'd go away. Did she want him to?

"_Sakura_," he said her name in that way that made tingles run up her arms and shivers run down her spine. Not like the kind of shivers she got from Kabuto, though. No, these were the good kind. She hated it.

"What?" she sighed, no real trace of anger in her voice. She just sounded tired. She _was _tired, she supposed.

"Let me explain."

"What is there to explain?" Sakura snapped back, her voice taking on a sharper edge.

"Everything."

"Well?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment before finally speaking. "That girl in there, she's not…she isn't…special to me. My mother arranged this date months ago, long before I even met you. To be quite honest with you, I forgot about it until yesterday. My mother would've been absolutely furious with me if I canceled, and so I thought it would be smarter to just go with it and then never speak to her again. Clearly this was a mistake."

Sakura snorted, alcohol making her woozy. "That's the most you've ever talked, I think."

"Sakura," she felt his hands come to rest on her shoulders from behind her, "I – "

"Don't _touch _me, Sasuke!" Sakura snapped, whirling on him then as she knocked his hands from her.

She was surprised by the genuine hurt in his eyes. "Sakura…"

"Sasuke," Sakura choked on his name as the tears started over again. "I can't be in your world, clearly. I don't belong somewhere like this, with people like this. That girl is way more up your alley than I am! For god's sake! Tsunade had to buy this for me!" Sakura gestured down at her dress. "I've never been privileged, Sasuke, I'll never fit in around your family or friends. I'm eighteen. You need someone older and from your social class. Someday you're going to look back and laugh at yourself for getting involved in a fling with one of your students. I'll be an awkward memory for you someday."

"Y-you can't leave me, Sakura," Sasuke stuttered, to Sakura's shock. She had never heard him stutter before. He was obviously attempting to maintain his stoic façade, but it was crumbling. "None of that is true."

"How can I leave you when we've never really been together in the first place?" Sakura whispered, voice thick with tears.

"I want to be," Sasuke whispered back, taking several steps closer, stopping only when he was right in front of her. "Sakura, I think I…I mean, more than likely I'm…I'm pretty sure I'm in – "

"Stop," Sakura nearly sobbed. "Please don't say something you don't mean just to try to save whatever this is that we had."

"_Have. _What we _have_."

"Stop it, Sasuke!" Sakura cried. "Just stop it, okay? This whole situation is just proof that we can't work. You will never be able to bring me around your family. They would freak out if they knew you were with an eighteen-year-old, riding-the-poverty-line student. And rightly so! You deserve better."

Sasuke looked livid. "Shut-up," he seethed, taking another step towards her. "Don't you ever talk about yourself like that. I don't fucking care how much money you have or don't have. I don't care that you're younger than I am. All I care about is that I get to call you mine and that I…"

Sasuke paused, pinching his nose and clenching his eyes shut. "If I ever have to watch Kabuto, or any other man, for that matter, touch you like that again, I swear to god I'll kill him. If your intent was to make my miserable, you should know you've succeeded."

"Yeah?!" Sakura spat harshly. "Well you made me miserable first! How do you think I felt when I walked in to find you arm-in-arm with some perfect ten beauty queen on your arm? I was…excited to see you. And now I've seen my competition and there's no way I can…I mean, I look ridiculous next to her."

If Sakura thought Sasuke was angry before, it was nothing compared to how mad he was then. He was practically spitting. His cheeks were red from anger and from the cold. "You are so _fucking _stupid, Sakura! I couldn't give _less _of a fuck about that girl in there. I couldn't even tell you what color her eyes are. No clue what color her dress is. She could go home and I could never see her again and be perfectly content for the rest of my goddamn life. This was all my mother's doing."

"How many times do I have to tell you that calling a girl stupid isn't exactly a way to get on her good side?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, vaguely aware that someone had walked out onto the balcony and then quickly turned back around at the sounds of their arguing. Good.

"I just truthfully don't understand how you don't understand!" Sasuke looked genuinely insane at this point. His hair was becoming more and more disheveled by the bitter winter wind, his tie blowing haphazardly back and forth.

"Don't understand what?" Sakura asked quietly, exhausted, slowly becoming more and more distracted by his looks. _Goddamn _he was dangerously handsome.

"I don't care how beautiful that girl is, or any girl, for that matter. I don't spend any time looking at or thinking about anyone but you and your fucking stupid beautiful face, and the rest of you, too. No one compares to you because I'm not fucking comparing them," Sasuke sighed, some of the fight going out of him as he closed the final distance between them. "I think I…need you."

"Okay," Sakura began slowly, letting the cold air dry her tears. "Well then we are obviously going to have to change some things, and soon. I don't think either of us wants to go through something like tonight ever again. You can't hide things like this from me. Just like I'm assuming you don't want me to hide things from you."

"Be my girlfriend," Sasuke said quickly. "Officially. You're not my student anymore, it's allowed."

"You really want me to be your girlfriend?" Sakura raised her eyebrows up at him, a hopeful lilt to her voice. "Like, publically?"

"You make me seem like such an awful person," Sasuke frowned. "Have I ever implied that I didn't want you to be?"

"No," Sakura admitted. "I guess not…"

"So will you?"

"Duh."

"You have no idea how much you irritate me."

"So dump me."

"Not on your life."

Sakura raised up on her tip toes just as he bent down to grab her face, and suddenly they were kissing so fervently that Sakura forgot about the cold. She forgot about their argument. He pressed her up against the balcony railing, the cold stone on her back a stimulating difference to Sasuke's warmth on her front. They kissed until they couldn't breathe and then kissed some more.

"I…almost…lost my mind…when you were…dancing with Kabuto," Sasuke breathed out between lip locks.

"Me too," Sakura confessed. "That was…childish of me…I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Sasuke replied, finally pulling back to rest his forehead against Sakura's own. His warm breath washed over her lips. "You should meet my parents. They're here."

"Woah, woah, woah," Sakura leapt out of Sasuke's grasp and to the side. "Not tonight when you're here with Sayomi. That'll just look bad for everyone involved."

"I already told you," Sasuke shrugged. "I don't care about her."

"Yeah, but you _should_," Sakura scolded. "Like, as a human being. She's obviously into you, don't drag me in there in front of her and introduce me to your parents as your secret girlfriend. She'd be mortified."

"Fine," Sasuke snapped. "But soon."

"Soon," Sakura nodded, smiling a little. "Let's just go back inside and finish this stupid night. We can always talk more later."

"What if I don't want to go back inside?" Sasuke asked, advancing on her again. "I'm having a much better time out here."

"I am too," Sakura laughed a little. "But Tsunade is probably wondering where I am and I'm sure, um, _Sayomi_ is looking for you. Just a little while longer and we can go."

"Fine," Sasuke sighed. "Tonight…if you want…I got that place off campus officially earlier today. There's not much in the way of furniture or anything. But there's a mattress on the floor. If you want to come and stay with me. We can talk more."

Sakura almost squealed in delight at the slightest hint of a blush coloring Sasuke's nose and cheeks. It was hard to tell due to the cold, but it was definitely there and Sakura was tickled by it. Unable to resist, Sakura reached out and took hold of his hand, pressing it to her waist and then sliding it down to her backside. Standing on her tippy toes, she put her lips close to his ear and whispered: "Are you sure you want to talk?"

"God, woman, we can do whatever you want," Sasuke groaned, tightening his newfound grip on her ass.

Sakura laughed lightly, disentangling herself from Sasuke's now very curious hands and motioning for him to follow her back into the party as she handed back his jacket.

"Go without me," Sasuke waved her on, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. "I'm going to need a minute. Or ten."

"Oops," Sakura shot him a cheesy grin that he didn't see. "My bad."

She tried not to be too proud of herself as she marched back into the party, unable to wipe the grin from her face as she made to find her drunken doctor.

* * *

Drunken doctor was the understatement of the century.

Tsunade, for lack of a better term, was hammered.

"You must be Sakura," the tall, white-haired man Sakura had seen Tsunade with earlier said. "Our lovely lady here seems to have gone a bit, ah, overboard."

"I can see that," Sakura sighed, quirking an eyebrow at Tsunade, who was now laying with her face and arms on her small table. "Sorry, who are you?"

"Jiraiya," the white-haired man stuck out his hand to shake. "Tsunade and I go way back."

"Tsunade?" Sakura prompted, poking the woman in the cheek. "You there?"

"Mmmm," Tsuande responded sleepily. "Jiraiya-drive-me-home."

"Yeah, yeah," Jiraiya chided. "What I meant by _way back_ was that I've been driving her drunk ass home for the last thirty years. You want a ride too, Sakura?"

"Um," Sakura shot a look back at Sasuke. He was standing by Sayomi again, but her arms were folded over her chest and she looked perturbed. "I think I have a ride, but thanks."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at her. "You sure? Tsunade will kill me if you don't get home safe. The way she talks about you, it's like you're her own kid," the man paused. "Never tell her I told you that, she'll probably kill us both."

"I'm sure," Sakura nodded. "Trust me, she'll understand."

"Alright. Tsunade trust you, so I will too," Jiraiya conceded, scooping his arm underneath Tsunade's and helping her to her feet. "I'm going to get this sad old bag of bones home."

"Hey, Jiraiya?" Sakura called after him as he began to lead Tsunade out to the front of the hosue. "How do I know I can trust _you_?"

"You can't," the man replied with a wink.

For some reason, that made Sakura trust him more. She smiled at the pair as they turned to leave again, and she couldn't help but note the way Tsunade let her head loll onto Jiraiya's shoulder.

Sakura turned her attention back to the party. Her eyes landed on Sayomi, who was talking to two older, dark-haired people. Sasuke's parents, maybe? It was hard to tell from her distance, but they did seem to look like him. Sasuke was nowhere to be found, however.

She made her way back to the bar, stupidly ordering another drink as she sat down to people watch. She hoped that Sasuke _could _in fact drive her home. She hadn't really asked, and now she was kind of stuck relying on him. Sakura stirred her drink. She knew Sasuke would never leave her there alone.

Her phone buzzed.

_Meet me out front in twenty minutes._

She smiled.

* * *

Sasuke dropped his cigarette on the balcony and crushed it beneath his shoe. He pulled out his phone and sent Sakura a quick text, letting her know to meet him out front in twenty minutes. He'd have to feed his family and Sayomi an excuse as to why he was leaving early. Sayomi's parents would be taking her home, anyway.

_Sayomi. _

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. He was _such _an idiot. He should've just canceled the date. He was so lucky that Sakura had chosen to seemingly forgive him for his royal fuck up. He was lucky for a lot of reasons, he supposed.

"Oh, _Sasuke-kun_."

Sasuke whipped around, recognizing that oily voice instantly. He had to push his wind-blown hair out of his eyes to fully see the figure standing before him in the shadows of the house.

He narrowed his eyes and regarded the man coldly. "Orochimaru."

* * *

AN: OOooooooh, Orochimaru is here, and our babies made up. Hope you guys liked this one :D Leave me a review and let me know what you thought! Don't forget to check out my Twitter! I'm posting sneak peaks there when I can. My account is: loonymoonyff


	17. SEVENTEEN

Seventeen

* * *

Twenty minutes had come and gone, and Sasuke was still nowhere to be found.

Sakura toyed with the hem of her threadbare coat somewhat anxiously. She was sure Sasuke had just gotten caught up talking to his parents, or something, but she just couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something was off. The sharp winter wind bit at her fingers and nose, and Sakura folded her arms against the cold. She was debating going back into the house to wait for Sasuke there. Standing outside among the delicately pruned shrubs was beginning to get old.

"Sorry," a cold, familiar voice reached Sakura's ears. "Getting out of there took longer than I expected."

Sakura immediately looked over her shoulder to see a somewhat frazzled looking Sasuke approaching her. He looked incredibly irked, when he hadn't only half an hour before. What had happened in that time to make him look so angry? Had his parents been upset with him for leaving the party? Was Sayomi upset? Sakura cringed at the thought.

"Everything okay?" she asked carefully, trying not to upset his already precarious mood.

"Fine," Sasuke breathed out, somewhat absently, looking pointedly over her shoulder. Decidedly not making eye contact.

"Okay…" Sakura frowned up at him, willing him to look at her.

Sasuke remained silent, eyes fixed on some point in the distance.

They stood side by side while they waited on the valet to bring Sasuke his car, neither one of them speaking. Sasuke was silently stewing and Sakura was doing her best not to stir the pot. Suddenly, going to Sasuke's apartment didn't seem like such a grand idea. Did he even want her there anymore? The silence between them was tense and awkward.

"Um, Sasuke?" Sakura ventured quietly, not quite looking at him. "I can just go home, if you'd rather. If you can just drop me off at Tsunade's place I can – "

"You don't want to come back with me?" Sasuke's eyes fixed her in place, then. She felt as though his gaze had nailed her to the earth. There were traces of hurt behind his swirling onyx irises, the corners of his eyes had softened ever so slightly. His expressions were so subtle, so barely-there. But she could see them.

"N-no, I do, but you just seem like you might not be in the mood to…entertain right now?" Sakura attempted to keep her voice neutral, not wanting to spark Sasuke's temper.

"It's not that," Sasuke bit out, although not too harshly. "I just… Ah. Please. Come back with me."

Sakura cast a glance up at him through her curled lashes. She really did want to spend the rest of the night with him… "Alright, Sasuke-kun," the suffix rolled off her tongue like she'd said it a thousand times before.

The look he gave her suggested that he had liked it.

* * *

Sakura pressed her temple to the cold glass of the window, straining to look at the stars as Sasuke drove them to his new apartment. He had been oddly quiet, even for him, since they had gotten into the car. She had hoped that his mood would have lightened after he reassured her that he wanted her to come over, but apparently, she wouldn't be so lucky.

Sakura shot him a tentative glance. He was staring dead-ahead, both hands locked firmly onto the wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. His lips were pressed into a thin line and his brows were drawn together in the middle. For someone who usually was so in control of his emotions, Sasuke was certainly doing a poor job of it tonight.

"So," Sakura began, thankful for the alcohol that still remained in her system. "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you or is this just going to be a really awkward night?"

He shot her a scowl, which quickly softened to a frown, which further progressed to a blank stare. "Nothing is the matter, Sakura."

"Okay, let's try this again," Sakura said, turning to face him from the passenger seat. "Either you give me some idea of what's going on with you, or I'm just going to call a cab and leave when we get to your apartment. I want to spend time with you, but I also can't stand the thought of awkwardly sitting in your apartment while you brood about something all alone."

Sasuke sighed, then, and for a moment he looked so sad that Sakura genuinely regretted giving him an ultimatum. For a while she thought he wouldn't answer, and she regretted her words all the more because she didn't _want_ to go back to Tsunade's. She really did want to stay with Sasuke.

"Someone from my past…an old boss actually, approached me before I left the party," Sasuke's voice was strained, and Sakura observed as he somehow gripped the steering wheel even tighter, the leather squeaking beneath his hands. "We didn't part on good terms before, and he tried to offer me a job."

"And that upset you?" Sakura asked, no hint of sarcasm in her voice. She was genuinely curious and worried about him. He seemed incredibly…effected.

"That man," Sasuke snapped with a sudden hostility in his voice, "is a manipulative, evil snake. It never fails to amaze me that he isn't in prison by now for some reason or other."

Sakura frowned. "You said he was an old boss, you worked for him before?"

"I did," Sasuke replied, eyes fixed steadily ahead on the road. "When I was young. A summer internship while I was in college."

"What kind of job was it?" Sakura asked, a little timidly. Getting this much information from Sasuke in one sitting was rare. She wanted him to keep talking.

"Research," came his short reply.

"What kind of research?" she pushed the envelope further, wincing slightly.

"…eugenics."

"Ah," Sakura frowned. "I see…"

"He was unethical," Sasuke rushed out. "For a while, I was so caught up in the science of it all…in the knowledge and power that we could unlock in the human race…" He shook his head. "I'm not proud of the time that I spent with him."

"You were young," Sakura soothed, reaching over to place her hand over his own on the steering wheel. "We all do stupid things when we're young."

"I was older than you are," Sasuke snapped back, fixing her with an intense stare as the car slowed for a stoplight.

The red glow washed over Sasuke's face, changing his eyes into glowing orbs that Sakura felt could see-through to her very soul. She squirmed.

"We women mature much faster than you boys do, you know," Sakura finally supplied, trying desperately to lighten the very intense mood. She did her best to swallow the lump in her throat inconspicuously.

"That's not an excuse for some of the projects I assisted on, Sakura," Sasuke murmured, gently pulling his hand out from under her own as the car started moving again. "And yet here I am, begging you back to my apartment like I deserve you."

"You don't have to beg me, I want to," Sakura insisted emphatically, placing her hand on his thigh instead. "What's past is past, Sasuke. You're a good person now."

"You believe that?" Sasuke asked, pulling into a parking spot behind a tall, black apartment building.

"I do," Sakura nodded, even though he wasn't looking at her anymore. "That tough guy, bully exterior doesn't fool me for a second."

One minute, Sakura was in the passenger seat, and the next she was in Sasuke's lap straddling his hips, with her arms braced on the headrest behind him. He had pulled her over so fast that she hadn't even realized what had happened. She thanked the universe for the slit in her dress, otherwise the delicate fabric may have ripped. His lips were on her in a second, sliding from her neck to her face to her lips and back again before she could even think to kiss him back. His hands had clamped down snugly on her waist and Sakura had the passing thought the she hoped he would never let go.

"Sakura, what you said before," Sasuke breathed her name between hot-mouthed kisses. "Can we really…"

He didn't have to finish his sentence. "Yes," Sakura replied, grasping his collar in her hands and pressing a deliberate kiss of her own to his mouth. His suppressed moan did horrible things to her stomach.

Sasuke fumbled for the door latch blindly, his other hand never leaving her waist as he pulled them both from the car. As soon as they were out, he had her back pressed against the freezing metal of the door and his tongue in her mouth.

"Mmm, cold," Sakura mumbled against his lips, pushing him forward to get herself away from the car. "Let's go inside."

Sasuke's eyes were even darker than usual when he finally looked down at her. Sakura thought it was all very romance-novel as she stood there staring up at this rich, gorgeous, dark-haired man who seemingly only had eyes for her.

In an instant, they were running, Sakura trailing behind as Sasuke pulled her by the hand into the building. Luckily, no one was in the lobby to see them nearly slam into the elevators as they skidded to a stop, Sasuke pressing the up button repeatedly like that would make the doors open faster.

Once they were safely inside the elevator and Sasuke had pressed the button for the seventh floor, he had pressed her up against the wall and reclaimed her mouth with his own, wandering hands grabbing anything they could get ahold of. Sasuke not being in control of himself was startling. And hot. Super hot.

He only released her when the elevator dinged and the door slid open. Calmly, as though he hadn't just been expressing his desire to fuck her brains out, he led her by the hand out of the elevator and to his apartment. Number 728.

Keeping his stoic mask in place, he unlocked his door and pushed it open, allowing a trembling Sakura to enter before him. She walked a few paces forward and paused, keeping her back to him and waiting for the tell-tale click of the door closing.

_Click_.

Sakura waited for about ten seconds. When nothing happened, she turned around to see Sasuke hanging his coat on the hook by the door, then pushing his sleeves up to his elbows, exposing his muscular forearms. She swallowed heavily. How he was suddenly being so calm was beyond her.

He approached her then, still infuriatingly calmly, pausing just in front of her to gently brush a few locks of hair from her face. He finally kissed her, and it was gentle and slow and sweet and deep, and suddenly taking their time didn't seem so bad. Their first time, their only time, as a matter of fact, had been awfully rushed. Amazing, but rushed nonetheless.

He was gently prodding her backwards, to his room she suspected, and she willingly let herself be led, trying to contain her giddiness when she felt his fingers toying with the zipper at the back of her dress. Maybe he was a little impatient after all, Sakura thought, as she felt his hands shaking lightly as he attempted not to rip the zipper in his eagerness to get the dress off.

"Easy, easy, Sasuke-kun," Sakura mumbled against his mouth as they entered his bedroom, which she vaguely noticed had nothing but a futon on the floor. "Let me help you."

She stepped away from him, then, reaching behind herself to finish unzipping the dress before Sasuke tore something and Tsunade killed them both. The crimson material fell to her feet with a light thud, leaving Sakura exposed to the chilly air of Sasuke's apartment and the cold eyes of the man himself.

Except they weren't cold. They were swirling with life and awe at the sight of her. Sakura blushed beneath his fierce gaze, suddenly embarrassed (and a little bit cold), as she reached to instinctively cover some of her torso with her arm. She was thankful she had started wearing cute underwear again some time ago…

"Tch," Sasuke clucked at her, suddenly in front of her and holding her arm away from herself. "None of that, please."

"It's cold in here, Sasuke-kun," Sakura pouted, blood already heating at his close proximity. He smelled like expensive cologne.

"I have blankets," Sasuke hushed her by crashing his lips into hers once again, drawing her near to him with warm hands and strong arms. Suddenly the cold was all but washed away as Sakura surrendered to the pooling feeling of desire deep in her gut.

Sasuke's fingers were dipping dangerously low beneath the hem of her lacy black panties, and Sakura suddenly became annoyed by his abundance of clothes. Pulling back, she pouted up at him again. "Why is it that I'm almost naked and you're still wearing so many clothes?"

Sasuke smirked down at her then, slowly reaching to begin unbuttoning his dress shirt, teasing her with his lack of speed. Growling with surprising frustration, Sakura reached forward and yanked, sending several buttons flying in all directions. She paused momentarily, a little afraid to meet Sasuke's gaze after doing something so impulsive. That had probably been an expensive shirt, after all…

Actions speak louder than words, however, and Sasuke's told Sakura that he didn't mind the loss of his shirt. He had her pinned back on the bed in an instant, intense, dark eyes fixed on her own in such a way that Sakura felt she couldn't blink, couldn't move.

He was kissing her again, then, and she could almost feel the stress of the events of the night leaking out of both of them as they lost themselves in lips and teeth and skin. Seeing Sasuke with Sayomi, her dance with Kabuto, all of that was fading away into nothing in the presence of Sasuke and Sakura and the things that they felt for each other there in that moment.

She could feel the heat of his desire pressed up against her thigh, and vaguely she marveled at the fact that she had actually managed to get tangled up in a sexual relationship with her professor. Yes, class was over now, but that didn't change the fact that they'd had sex while she was still his student and they might never have met had she not been in his class. The thought had her smiling uncontrollably under the heat of his lips.

Sasuke must have noticed, because he pulled back a bit, quirking an eyebrow up at her and her grinning face. To Sakura's surprise, his own lips lifted almost imperceptibly into a smirk. "What?" he asked, breath tickling her nose lightly.

"Nothing," Sakrua did her best to shrug while laying beneath him. "I was just thinking about how I've only been in school for a semester and I've already managed to fall for one of my professors."

"Aa," was all Sasuke said, while continuing to stare at her.

Sakura felt an intense blush stain her cheeks as she debated whether or not she should have said that. She hadn't exactly made a love confession, but still…did she just freak him out? He was just staring at her.

Suddenly, Sasuke leaned forward, lips pressed up against her ear as he breathed: "I certainly hope I'm that professor."

Sakura responded by rolling him over onto his back in a quick flip, landing on top of him with her legs straddling his hips, hands pressed against his bare chest. "Of course it's you, _Uchiha-sensei_."

Those five words were his undoing, it would seem, as all traces of his calm behavior flew haphazardly out the window. Sakura found herself back on her back in an instant, Sasuke's lips making a wet path down her neck to her clothed breasts. His left hand was glued to her hip, his right had reached behind her in an attempt to unhook her bra. She let him struggle for about five seconds before his groan of frustration against her chest prompted her to reach behind herself and unhook it for him. Who would've thought? Uchiha Sasuke was not skilled in the art of bra removal.

His failure didn't seem to bother him though, as he ripped the black bra from her body and threw it across the room with a flick of his wrist. She lay bared before him, trying to keep her blushing in check as his eyes devoured her naked skin. He stared for so long that Sakura eventually looked down at her torso to see if she had turned a color or something.

Their eyes locked, and Sasuke's lips were back on her in a moment, kissing her like she had never been kissed before. The licked and kissed and bit to the point that Sakura felt she could cry if they didn't do something soon. Never in her life had she been so turned on.

Sasuke seemed to be struggling as well, if the sounds he was making were any indication. Every few seconds, a seemingly uncontrollable shudder and buck of his hips would roll through him, each time sending a jolt to Sakura's core that begged to be satisfied. A strangled sound escaped her lips that was both cathartic and embarrassing. She chose to be thankful for it when it prompted Sasuke to literally rip her underwear in his hasty attempt to remove them.

"Sorry," he breathed raggedly into her mouth as he reached down to remove his own pants.

"It's ok," Sakura sighed back, reaching out to help him remove his last articles of clothing. "You can buy me new ones."

Sasuke grunted in response, lips back on her and now naked flesh pressed up against her. Sakura let this go on for about thirty seconds before a shudder of desire racked through her, prompting her to squeak out his name mixed with a shaky moan. Finally, he seemed to lose his control, using one hand to anchor her and another to guide himself inside of her, causing both of them to groan loudly into each other's shoulder.

"Sakura," Sasuke rasped out, voice seductively deep against her throat. "I…can't wait another two months to do this again."

Sakura could barely think straight, let alone form a coherent sentence, so she merely nodded her head and hoped she didn't look too ridiculous as her eyes nearly rolled back in her head. At least she knew he enjoyed it too.

She bit her lip to keep from crying out as he reached behind to lift one of her legs up over his hip, deepening the angle as he continued to thrust into her with reckless abandon. His name escaped her lips like a curse, like a praise, and her quiet moans only seemed to encourage him further. A light sheen of sweat now covered them both, despite the cold, and Sakura began to contemplate the possibility of doing this all night.

As if reading her mind, Sasuke's lips came to rest on her ear, alternating between licking, biting, and sucking. "Can we do this again tonight?" he panted, words rushed and barely audible.

"Yes," Sakura sighed, tears forming in her eyes as pleasure threatened to overwhelm her small frame.

Neither one of them lasted long. Weeks of pent up sexual tension saw to that. He remained on top of her for several minutes, pressing dozens of surprisingly soft kisses all over her upper chest, neck, and face. Sakura's earlier tears nearly returned at the utter sweetness of the gesture. He eventually rolled off of her, reaching over to tug her gently onto his chest, wrapping his arm around her small middle and resting his chin on top of her head. She couldn't help but feel that they had been made to fit like that.

It might have been hours later, it might have been minutes, Sakura wasn't really sure, when Sasuke spoke again.

"I really do want you to meet them, you know. My parents."

Sakura froze underneath his hand, which had taken to twirling her hair round and round his fingers. "Your parents? Really?"

"Aa," Sasuke affirmed. "They are not such bad people, Sakura. They will like you."

As confident as Sasuke often sounded, Sakura couldn't help but believe she heard the slightest tremble to his voice as he spoke. Did he really believe that his parents would like her? An eighteen-year-old ex-student from a poor family? How could they possibly when there were girls like Sayomi to compare her to…

"If you say so…" Sakura finally replied. "You should meet my parents as well, then."

Sasuke didn't reply, but he didn't need to. The tensing of his shoulder and chest muscles under her head told Sakura all she needed to know. The thought clearly made him nervous.

"What? They'll love you, Sasuke," Sakura reassured him, trying not to smile at his obvious discomfort. "They already _kind of _know about you, anyway…"

"They do?" Sasuke asked, sitting up a little to look at her. There was genuine surprise in his eyes.

"Well," Sakura smirked propping herself up on her elbow to see him better. "It was kind of Naruto's fault. He let it slip over Thanksgiving that I had a _special someone, _so of course my mother nearly lost her mind. I think the only way for her to not like you would be if you were a mass-murdering lunatic. My father will…take some work. But he'll come around."

"Hn. Do they know I was your professor?" Sasuke asked, quirking a suspicious eyebrow up at her, a smirk hiding behind his lips, hair slightly disheveled and cheeks almost pink.

"Ah, no," Sakura blushed, despite the fact that she was laying naked in his bed with only a sheet to cover her modesty. "I just told them you were from my anatomy and physiology class, so not technically a lie. It'll be fine. Probably."

"Do you have any siblings?" Sasuke asked suddenly, surprising her a little. It wasn't like him to keep a personal conversation going for so long.

"Nope," Sakura shook her head, flopping over to her back to look up at the ceiling. "It's just me and my parents. And you?"

"I had a brother," Sasuke said quietly, almost too quietly to hear.

Sakura froze, choosing to remain silent. If Sasuke wanted to tell her more, he would. She was simultaneously terrified to push him and insatiably curious to hear more. She couldn't believe he had even answered her question – she hadn't really been expecting him to.

"Itachi," Sasuke continued.

When he paused again, Sakura reached out to lace her fingers with his own, keeping her gaze locked firmly on the ceiling so as not to pressure him. Relief washed through her like rain when she felt his fingers tighten around hers almost imperceptibly.

"What happened, Sasuke?" she ventured timidly.

A pause. "He died," his voice had grown hoarse, tired. "Years ago."

"Were you close?" Sakura wondered, swirling patterns onto his hand with her thumb, hoping he trusted her enough to tell her.

"At times," came Sasuke's reply. "I spent much of my time jealous of him, Sakura. I always believed he was my father's favorite, and that drove something of a wedge between us. But he deserved none of my spite. He was…a good brother."

"Oh, Sasuke," Sakura sighed, rolling over to prop herself up on his chest, no longer worried about giving him his space. "You were a good brother, too."

"How do you know?" he asked, and the look in his eyes made her so sad.

"Because I know you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled softly, tracing his jaw with her finger. "That's all I need to know."

"I wish he could have met you," Sasuke frowned, catching her hand in his own. "He would have been surprised that I ever…found someone. Especially someone like you."

"Someone like me," Sakura feigned offence, sitting up and holding the sheet to her chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sasuke sat up too, blanket wrapped around him to his midsection. "It means that you're young and cheerful and very _bright_," he emphasized the last word by reaching forward and giving a light tug to the end of her bubble-gum hair.

"I guess that's true," Sakura smiled, reaching up to run a hand through her tangled pink locks, unintentionally letting the sheet slip a little from her bare chest. Before she could grab it again, the sheet was ripped from her entirely by a devious-looking Sasuke.

Open-mouthed in shock and blushing from a mix of anger, embarrassment, and excitement, Sakura grabbed the blanket around Sasuke's waist and ripped it away as well, folding her arms across her chest as he hmphed in what appeared to be a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

They sat there staring at each other for a few moments, before Sasuke's eyes began to wander, and finally he reached out to tug Sakura's arms away from herself. He pulled her into a gentle kiss, flipping her tenderly onto her back as he claimed her mouth over and over again. Sakura sighed contentedly as he ran a lightly trembling hand through her hair.

She could get use to nights like this.

* * *

AN: Man, guys, I really don't like this chapter :/ my apologies if it's riddled with errors and typos, I literally couldn't force myself to read it again xD I hope you guys like it better than I do!

I feel like this story has maybe two or three chapters left in it, I have a few things left that I want to do, such as meeting the parents and tying up a few other things, but not much else. I will definitely be starting another SasuSaku multi-chapter when I'm done, though :D and of course more one-shots.

Don't forget to leave me a review and let me know what you think! Thank you all so much for sticking with this story, I appreciate all your support!

If you want to interact with me, follow me on twitter: loonymoonyff

~love, loony


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